Mega Man 4: The Doctor's Defiance
by Magus523
Summary: With Dr. Wily's death, the Robot Rebellions should have ended. However, a new dark doctor steps forth to threaten the world once more... Novelization.
1. Prologue

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Prologue

All right, is this thing on? Good. Hey, everybody. Before you get started on this, some of you might need a recap. Those of you who already know what went on during the first three Robot Rebellions, good for you. Skip ahead, then. As for the rest of you, you get stuck listening to me.

I suppose it all started after the year 2040... after the Third World War which brought the Earth to the brink of destruction had ended. One of the things Uncle Al said to me was that the human race had a seemingly limitless ability to commit mass stupidity. Looking back on those days, I can believe it. How thick do you have to be to think widespread use of nuclear weapons is a GOOD idea? At any rate, it wasn't until it was almost too late that the people wised up. At that point, humanity made one last attempt to redeem themselves. All the countries of the world pooled their greatest scientific minds to create a group known as the Second Rainbow, charged with saving the world from the destruction they had inflicted on it. Two of those scientific minds were a pair of idealistic young robotocists named Dr. Thomas Light and Dr. Albert Wily. The Second Rainbow continued its work for many years, restoring the world, until the day in which an issue arose that tore the group apart. Robotics had proceeded to the point at which some of the members thought of the creation of... almost sentient robots. Robots who could come as close to humans as possible. Guess who the two most active advocates of this were? That's right, Light and Wily.

Actually, by the time the Second Rainbow had split apart, they had already created their first one. The prototype for the "Robot Masters" as such robots would come to be known. His name was Blues, activated in 2067, and he was a quirky sonofagun with a distinct personality. However, he was still not completely sentient, and bound by the three rules of robotics. As it turned out, though, it didn't really matter. In 2069, after the Second Rainbow had fragmented, those three were working on a new invention. A matter teleporter. Long story short, it went haywire. End result? Blues was zapped off to who-knew-where, and Wily was caught in the outskirts of the blast, although he suffered no APPARENT damage. We'll get back to THAT in a moment.

Okay, go forward a year. Light and Wily, although still saddened over the loss of Blues, decide to try again. But not just once. Oh no, this time they went ahead and made EIGHT of the buggers. Most notably, DLN001 Rock, and his sister, DLN002 Roll, who just so happens to be me. The other six, while still our brothers, were mentally inferior to the two of us, and I mean that in the nicest way. They just weren't as humanlike as us. As it later turned out, that design would become the norm for Robot Masters, and myself, Rock and Blues (and one other, who we'll get to later) would be called "Advanced Robot Masters." It worked. Anyways, while Rock and I were designed just to be humanlike lab assistants, the other six were made in order to pick up where the Second Rainbow left off, and help fix the world. They were mass produced for that purpose. By name, they were Bomb Man, Guts Man, Cut Man, Elec Man, Ice Man and Fire Man. Sound familiar? I ain't surprised... most of the world knows them by name now... thanks to Wily.

Back to that teleporter accident. As we found out a bit after us eight were created, Wily WAS damaged. Matter teleporting, apparently, was incredibly unsafe for humans; something about the process scrambled up their grey matter real nastily. To put it in layman's terms... Wily went nuts. Stark raving bonkers. He reprogrammed the lesser six Robot Masters, along with an army of other robots, to serve him, and set out to conquer the world by force. Needless to say, this wasn't very happy news to lots of people, but Wily had seized key positions that armies couldn't take. That's where WE came in. The Lights. Rock volunteered to be upgraded for combat readiness, and "dad" created a suit of blue armor for him, along with a plasma arm cannon and a variable weapons system that allowed him to copy and reproduce the primary weapons of defeated Robot Masters. With those, Rock reluctantly took up the heroic role of "Mega Man" as the newsies dubbed him, retook the six locations, defeated the Robot Master in charge of each, and went on to capture Wily himself inside his Skull Fortress. Wily was packed off to jail, and Rock returned to a peaceful, normal life... or so we thought.

Well, that should have been the end of it. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Wily was RELEASED from prison, promising to be a good little boy. And, as anybody with half a brain could have forseen, he built eight more of his OWN Robot Masters and launched the whole escapade again. Metal Man, Bubble Man, Heat Man, Wood Man, Air Man, Crash Man, Flash Man and Quick Man, to give them their names. Once more, Rock became Mega Man and went out to save the day, first taking out the Robot Masters, then going into Skull Fortress II and sending Wily packing to the big house once again.

Now, we come to 2072. While in jail, Wily had undergone brain treatment by a psychologist named Dr. Cedric Froid. Froid believed he had cured Wily, and with the help of a politician named Richolds, he got the doc sprung again. This time, though, it looked like it had worked. Wily was very repentant, and his first concern was making sure that Robot Masters never threatened the world again. He teamed up with dad, and the two of them began work on the ultimate peace-keeping robot, a massive, nigh-invincible titan called Gamma. Before things got too far, though, disaster struck. In order to complete Gamma, eight new sources of power called Energen Crystals were needed. These crystals could only be mined in specific places, all under the control of a Robotics company, Sennet Robotics, who had their own eight Robot Master designs. Anybody see where this is going? Yup. Magnet Man, Top Man, Shadow Man, Spark Man, Hard Man, Needle Man, Snake Man and Gemini Man went loco and seized the mines. This time, though, Wily adamantly maintained that he WASN'T doing it. Rock became Mega Man for the third time and went out to stop the mystery Rebellion.

Here's where things got... different. Along the way, Mega kept encountering a wierd red-and-gray Robot Master unlike any he'd ever seen. Calling himself Break Man, this guy had very similar abilities, down to the plasma arm cannon and Weapons Copy, and he seemed to exist solely to get in Mega's way... at first. Every time they met, Mega beat him down, and as time passed, they became rivals, and then almost friends. ANYWAYS, once the last of the mines had been retaken, the mastermind was revealed. And no, it wasn't Wily. It was his son... in a way. Back during the first Rebellion, Wily in his insanity had created his first own Robot Master... an ADVANCED Robot Master, on the same level as me, Rock, Blues and Break Man. Named Doc Man, he was equipped with a hologram generator that let him mimic anybody, human or robot. He went up against Mega in Skull Fortress, and was horribly beaten, within an inch of his life. At the last moment, though, Mega spared him out of pity. Doc Man, though, could only see it as cruelty, being left to a slow death instead of being finished quickly. He called Wily for help, and was scorned. As far as anybody knew, that was the last of him... until 2072, when we found out different.

As it turned out, Doc Man did NOT die. Instead, the physical and mental strain caused him to snap, and he went even more bats than his old man. Completely free of all Laws of Robotics, even the twisted ones Wily had put into his creations, Doc Man spent the time to plot his revenge against both Mega and Wily. The Third Robot Rebellion was the result... but when that failed, he played his personal hand, revealing that he had been masquerading as Dr. Froid in order to get Wily out of jail for the revenge. Mega took Doc Man on and eventually, finally killed him. And that's when Wily made HIS move.

Oh, Wily had told the truth when he said the Rebellion wasn't his doing. But he never said he wasn't planning to jack Gamma once the thing was near completion. Hustling it off to his hidden third Skull Fortress, Wily began to finish the "Ultimate Peace-Keeper," now the Ultimate War Machine. And Mega, accompanied only by Mr. Mystery Break Man, had to go in and stop it before Gamma was activated, at which point no force on earth would be able to stop it. Mega technically failed there, but somehow, defying all logic whatsoever, he managed to destroy Gamma anyways. The downside? Said destruction caused Skull Fortress 3 to collapse, killing Wily. Break Man was barely able to save Mega, but he arrived too late for the Doc.

As for Break Man. Once everything was over, he revealed himself. It was Blues... our older brother, back after all this time. The teleporter had plonked him in the African jungle, and when he managed to come back, who did he run into but Wily. Completely unaware of the first two Rebellions, he was hoodwinked into messing with Mega. Eventually, though, he figured out what was going on and helped from the inside to save the day.

And that's how it went until 2075. Three years of peace... of happiness, of family life for the Lights. Wily was gone, and the world was at peace. Or so we thought... we were wrong. What we had was only a temporary reprieve... before the battles started again, and the Fourth Robot Rebellion began.


	2. Chapter 1: The Lighter Side Of Life

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Chapter 1: The Lighter Side Of Life

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"When it comes to wars, some people suppose we should consider ourselves lucky. In the last two centuries, the 'good guys' never bit the big one. Wars are terrible, yes. But at the end of it all, the people got to go home and return to their lives for the most part..." -Dr. James Cain, Reploids And Their Place In Society

"Let's see here... two bills and a junk for the Lees..." The postman muttered as he stuffed the mail into the box in front of the house, then walked further down the road. The next house wasn't for a ways ahead, so he had plenty of time to sort out what they would be getting today. "All right... one bill, three junk, a comic for Blues..." He raised an eyebrow at the graphic nature of the cover, but didn't comment further. "A newsletter for the Doc, a... summons for jury duty for Roll?" He laughed. "SOMEBODY's sure got the wrong number... and a letter from a 'Colonel Dex,' also for the doc. Pretty good haul, all things considered." Humming a little tune to himself, he made his way to the front of a lone house a good ways out from the city. As he approached the mailbox, a startled oath came from behind a bush.

"No! Mr. Kazansky, don't-!" Too late; the postman had already opened the mailbox, and received a blast of snow from it, straight in the face. Sputtering, he wiped it off and glared at the source of the late warning; a black-haired boy who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, wearing a thick red coat and grey snow pants, along with a pair of oversized sunglasses.

"Cute trick, Blues. Let me guess; some kind of snow war?" The boy sheepishly looked down.

"Yeah, pretty much... it wasn't meant to hit you, though. Sorry, Mr. Kazansky." Although the boy looked perfectly human, Kazansky knew that Blues was in fact a robot, the first of the "Advanced Robot Masters" to be built, and while he didn't actually possess complete free will, he was damn close enough that most people, including Kazansky, couldn't tell the difference. Although he couldn't see them, he knew that Blues' younger but equally advanced robotic siblings, Rock and Roll, were undoubtably hiding around somewhere.

"Well, here's the mail. Don't let it get soaked, okay? I doubt Dr. Light would be amused." Blues nodded and whistled a short melody.

"Don't worry. Here, gimme-YOW!" A heavy snowball approximately the size of a bowling ball exploded against the back of his head, courtesy of a boy who looked for all the world like a slightly younger version of Blues, dressed in blue. Laughing, Rock ran behind a hill.

"Oh, so that's how you wanna play, huh?" Blues growled angrily. Stuffing the mail into its box, he gave chase, scooping snowballs as he ran. Kazansky shook his head as he watched a third form make its appearance. Roll, their sister, climbed to the top of the hill and began creating an abnormally large ball of snow. Although he couldn't see what was going on behind the hill, Kazansky could tell by the noise that the brothers were too busy dealing with each other to notice Roll. With an evil grin, she kicked the huge snowball down the hill towards them. Kazansky shook his head as he heard the oaths and crashes caused by this latest attack.

"I'd better get out of here before these kids kill somebody... namely, me!" Turning, he walked down the road away from the Light residence. Back at the snow fight, the three siblings had moved in close together for a brutal firefight. Dodging, weaving and counterattacking each other, the Light children moved underneath a large, spreading snow-laden tree.

"Too bad your trap was tripped, big bro!" Rock laughed. Blues frowned and nailed him with an iceball.

"Ain't going to stop me from winning this, brother mine!"

"Big words from two boys who just got NAILED less than a minute ago!" Roll taunted. "And you two are supposed to be the fighters in the family! Why don't you just make it easy and-ARGH!" Suddenly, without warning, the tree above them released its frigid cargo. Huge sheets of snow fell upon all three of the Lights, burying them completely underneath its mass. For a short time, there was silent peace and serenity in the yard. Then, it was spoiled by Rock bursting out of the new snowdrift like a leaping whale, making sounds akin to one as well.

"Urgh... good thing we don't need to breathe." The robot muttered. A moment later, Roll came out next to him.

"I'll assume that wasn't your trap?" She asked. Rock shook his head. "Didn't think so. Stupid Blues... he's going to be in for it when he gets up here." They both looked at the place their brother had been when the snow fell, but nothing came up. Several moments passed, and Rock frowned.

"He's not coming up... do you think something happened to him?"

"I don't know..." Roll bit her lip. "That shouldn't have hurt him in any way... he's tough..."

"Oh, wait. There he is." Rock walked down from the pile, followed by his sister, and pointed at the tunnel through it. Unlike them, Blues had dug his way out through the side, and was now cheekily on his back, making a snow angel. He smiled and whistled as they stood over him.

"Hey, you two. Nice one. That was undoubtably the best move in the game. In fact, I think it was so good, I'm willing to concede the whole thing to whichever one of you was behind it." The two younger Light siblings blinked and looked at each other. Roll was first to speak.

"That... wasn't yours?"

"Nope!" Blues shrugged.

"Well, it wasn't ours..." Rock muttered. "Then, who...?" As one, they turned to look up at the tree. Perched on a branch was a small, brown robot resembling a suitcase with a face and feet. They all stared. "EDDIE?!" Eddie beeped. After a moment of stunned silence, Blues began howling with laughter.

"HAHAHA! Well, well, looks like we have a surprise participant! I hereby declare Eddie the winner of this game!"

"This isn't a laughing matter, bro." Roll frowned. Eddie was the oldest member of the Light family aside from Dr. Light himself, created for him and Dr. Wily back in the days of the Second Rainbow as a robotic case for their papers. "Eddie's nice enough, but he's still just a robot. Oh, I'll admit he's probably more advanced than most normal robots, but still, he's far below even the average Robot Master. And his programming contains absolutely NOTHING about snow wars. He shouldn't even be able to understand the concept of what we're doing, let alone spontaneously decide to take part in it. Something is wrong here... wrong and wierd."

"Aaah, it's okay." Rock shrugged. "Let's go in and ask dad; he'll probably be able to figure it out. It was about time to go in, anyways; I'm going to suffer hypothermia if I stay out here much longer."

"We're robots, doofus." Roll reminded him as Eddie hopped down and the four of them started to walk back to the house. "We can't GET hypothermia."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Blues yawned. "Doesn't mean we can't feel temperatures. You take things too seriously sometimes, Roll."

"SOMEBODY has to." She snapped back. The two Light brothers looked at each other, smiled and shrugged, feeling too happy to bother getting into an argument with their sister.

Life was good for the Lights.

"Hmm... they should be arriving here soon." Dr. Thomas Light mused, looking at his watch. Ten to noon. Yawning, the robotocist leaned back in the chair he was sitting in at his favroite restaurant. The somewhat portly robotocist's hair and beard were both completely white, leaving only his eyebrows their natural dark brown, even though he was only in his early sixties. A legacy of stress from the Third World War, he would tell anybody who asked. Right now, he was waiting on a few friends; two from far, far out of town and one considerably closer.

"Hey, Tom! Tom Light!" A voice called him from the entrance of the restaurant. Dr. Light looked over to see a black-haired man with a neat mustache waving cheerily at him. He was shortly followed in by an older man with hair and beard as white as Dr. Light's, wearing a pair of sunglasses. The first was Dr. Trent Corbun, former head of the now-defunct Sennet Robotics, and the second was "Mr. X," aka Olivier Xanthos, a billionaire. Both were friends of Dr. Light, and in fact he had been expecting them; they had arrived in Japan only recently. The two men crossed and sat down at his table, shaking his hand.

"It is good to see you again, Tom." Mr. X smiled. "How have you been these past three years?"

"Good as possible, all things considered. The kids have been taking it easy... no more... Robot Rebellions. Well. You know." He fell silent for a moment. "Hmm... I wonder where Darwin is..."

"He's over there." Dr. Corbun looked over at the door, where a portly, balding man nodded perfunctorily to the doorman and walked over to the table. Darwin Vinkus was Japan's representative on the council of the United Nations, and while not exactly Dr. Light's-or anybody else's-favorite person, he saw the doctor and his family regularly due to their fame.

"Tom... Trent... X." He shook each of their hands. "Looks like we're all here." The four men around the table were the remnants of the "Gamma Team," the heads of the project to create the ultimate robotic peacekeeper three years ago. Dr. Light and Dr. Wily had been the true geniuses behind Gamma, but Vinkus, Corbun and X, along with the politician Donald Richolds and the psychologist Dr. Cedric Froid, had served various important roles in the completion of the project, from supplying funding and labor to managing PR and making sure it fit the UN's orders. Wily, Richolds and Froid, however, had all died in the chaotic disaster at the end of the Third Robot Rebellion, and Gamma was also destroyed by Mega Man, hopefully never to be rebuilt.

"Vinky, old buddy! How you been doing?" Dr. Corbun laughed. "Still on the UN? Keeping all those other maniacs from blowing each other up?"

"The council's doing just fine, Trent, thank you for asking." Vinkus growled. The british robotocist just smiled; needling Vinkus was one of his favorite pastimes whenever they met.

"Gentlemen, please. This is supposed to be a friendly reunion." Mr. X reminded them. "Trent, what have you been doing lately?"

"Cleanup duty, mostly." Dr. Corbun admitted. "The Third Robot Rebellion did more than bankrupt Sennet; it really made a huge tangle out of what was left, with a capital SNAFU. Employee records were an absolute disaster, and as the president at the time of its bankruptcy, I have to sort it all out. Not particularly fun; not at all. I'm almost done, though; once I am, US Robotics was making some motions that looked like they wanted to hire me for a nice position. The only account still left to unravel besides my own is Sergei Cossack's."

"Cossack?" Vinkus frowned. "Wait... I thought he resigned long before that Rebellion?"

"Oh, he did, he did." Dr. Corbun assured him. "He resigned in protest because we made warbots... he was a genius, but he just couldn't see certain things. Had a hard time understanding the real world sometimes. Anyways, just because he resigned earlier doesn't mean his accounts with us weren't majorly bleeped up when the Rebellion hit. Admittedly, it's not all that much; by all reason, it SHOULD have been one of the easiest for me to take care of."

"Should have?" Dr. Light frowned. Dr. Corbun rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Should have. Instead, though, Murphy's Law hit me right between the eyes. I haven't been able to get a hold of Cossack at all; ever since he quit, he's been completely quiet to the public eye, and he hasn't returned any of my calls. Quite frankly, it's irritating as hell."

"Excuse me." Mr. X politely spoke up. "Who is this Dr. Cossack? I seem to be the only one here who does not know of him."

"Dr. Sergei Cossack..." Vinkus thought for a moment. "Well, he's a Russian robotocist of great skill, there's no doubt about that. Something must run in the family, I suppose; his father, Yuri Cossack, was in the Second Rainbow. He was a medical doctor... worked to create cures for all those nasty little diseases that sprung up from biological warfare. BW wasn't as showy as nuclear weapons, but it killed almost as many people; Yuri was instrumental in putting a stop to that. When Sergei grew up, he rose quickly in the robotics field... he was the leading robotocist of Sennet Robotics for what... five years, Trent?"

"Approximately." Dr. Corbun nodded.

"Anyways, shortly before the First Robot Rebellion, Dr. Cossack resigned." Vinkus continued. "It was in protest over Sennet's construction of warbots, like Trent said earlier. He became a recluse; refurbished an old hereditary family castle that was built in the fifteenth century and disappeared-just shut out the world and forgot everything. Lived the hermit life. Ever since then, the only contact he's had with the outside world has been large quantities of components shipped to the castle. That would tend to suggest that he's been working on some secret superadvanced project all this time, but so far, nothing's shown of it."

"It's a shame, really." Dr. Light sighed. "Even when Sergei was young, he had a great deal of potential... Yuri was no robotocist, not by a long shot, but he knew that his son could become even greater than himself... he was always so proud. I wish he had lived longer... perhaps if he had, Sergei would have shown all his potential instead of hiding it away like this."

"He's a grown man now, Tom." Dr. Corbun reminded him. "Dr. Cossack may be a lot younger than you, but he still has to make his own decisions on how to live his life. You probably haven't even seen him for over a decade. I think he even has his own daughter now or something."

"Point, point." Dr. Light conceded. "I've got my hands full keeping my three kids in line anyways. The other day, Blues put a jalapeno in my coffee. I felt like I would have to drink bleach or something in order to get the taste out. Absolutely disgusting, let me assure you."

"Jalapeno coffee...?" Vinkus made a disgusted face. "Your robots have a decidedly questionable sense of humor, Tom. That sounds almost as bad as Trent's 'idea' about wasabi on a scone three years ago; the idea of THAT horrid concoction still gives me nightmares." He shuddered.

"After being raised by Tom here and old Al Wily, who can blame 'em?" Dr. Corbun cracked. "Still, they've got nothing on Sennet's old Spinstrike models. Hyperactivity is not a good trait in a Robot Master with a glitched personality, especially at an Energen crystal mine."

"I'll bet..." Mr. X looked at his menu. "I think I'll be getting thie fish and chips... are we all ready to order now?"

"Hey, dad!" Roll yelled. "Where are you? We need to talk with you about Eddie!" She looked in the living room, kitchen, and dining room; no Dr. Light. "Where is he?" She glared at Blues, who was leaning against the wall with an amused look on his face. "Well? Aren't you going to help look?"

"Why? He's not here." Blues shrugged. "He went out... Dr. Corbun and Mr. X are in town, and he's going to meet them and Vinkus for lunch."

"NOW he tells me this." Roll rolled her eyes heavenward. "Why, oh why was I graced with such an irritating older brother?"

"Your sparkling personality?" Rock suggested. "Corbun and X are good guys... hopefully we'll get to say hi while they're in town. Vinkus, though..."

"What about Vinkus?" Roll asked. Rock frowned.

"I don't know... nothing that obvious. It's just... the way he looks at us, acts around us... something about it creeps me out."

"I know what you mean, actually." His sister shuddered. "It's like... like he doesn't care a bit about our lives, as if they have no relevance or value whatsoever... it's freaky, is what it is."

"Think about it." Blues' smile had vanished. "Vinkus was part of the anti-robotics half of the Second Rainbow... the half that opposed our very existence, along with the rest of the Robot Masters. They feared that robotics would advance too much... that we would supplant them, replace humanity."

"That's bullshit." Roll snorted. "The three of us are at the top of the order, as smart as they come. And even we don't have complete full will, even discounting the Laws of Robotics."

"Don't be so sure." Rock said very quietly. "Remember Doc Man?" All three of them flinched as they recalled the insane, mass-murdering lunatic who had started the Third Robot Rebellion and slaughtered hundreds for the sole purpose of personal revenge on Rock and Dr. Wily. "He was an Advanced Robot Master like us... but he had no restrictions, no limitations. And it cost him his sanity... remember how many people he killed? He would have done that again and again if I hadn't killed him instead."

"But... he wasn't working right." Roll protested. "Right from the start, Doc Man was built by an insane man. And after you beat him in the First Rebellion and Wily abandoned him, his brain snapped. He was a fluke... a glitch. That wasn't supposed to happen... it wasn't right..."

"So?" Blues muttered. "So he went insane because of events that happened in his life. If something like that happened to you, or to Rock, or me, can you be one-hundred-percent sure that we wouldn't go off the deep end too? There's still a lot about our mental workings that dad doesn't fully understand, even though he created us. And if he doesn't know, then who does?"

"There's still the three laws." Roll stubbornly countered. "We know that Wily installed much different versions into his robots, and in his insanity, they were probably loosened on Doc Man. No matter what else happens, I can't see us breaking the first law... I just can't."

"You're wrong about the laws, Roll." Rock whispered. "All of us have broken the Third Law... and I know I've broken the Second Law more than once. Against the first Wilymachine, when I overrode the safeties on my arm cannons and fired both at once... and against Gamma, when I forced all my weapons energy into the Top Spin in one last suicide strike. Both times, I nearly died."

"Well, Roll does have one point. That still leaves the First Law." Blues looked at his brother. "Doesn't it?" Rock was silent. "...Doesn't it, Rock?"

"I..." He struggled. "Blues, I don't know if you'll understand this, but... Rock is bound by the First Law of Robotics... a robot must not harm a human being, or through inaction, allow harm to come to one. He cannot violate that, it's bound to Rock's core programming, like you two. Rock must obey the First Law... but..."

"But what?" Roll whispered. Rock took a deep breath and looked at her.

"But I don't know if Mega Man does." Roll reeled as if she had been slapped. Rock continued without pausing, as if afraid that he wouldn't be able to keep going if he stopped for even an instant. "More and more, as the Rebellions continued, I felt my mindset dividing... changing. Like I was two different people on and off the battlefield. It wasn't a problem, really... that is, until the end of the Third Robot Rebellion."

"That night... now I remember..." Roll nodded. Blues raised an eyebrow.

"Forgive the returnee to the family... what night?"

"Yeah, you weren't there..." Roll realized. "It was the night you and Rock assaulted Skull Fortress III... but before that. That terrible time when we realized that Wily had been faking after all... that even though he wasn't behind the Rebellion, he was still the madman who had started the other two, and that he had Gamma... it hit Rock the hardest." Rock nodded in silent agreement, face chalk-white, as she continued. "He was the most skeptical, you see... he never really believed Wily until Doc Man revealed himself. And when he arrived back from his battle with Doc Man to find... THAT... he... well, he lost it, to put it mildly..."

"Mega Man lost it." Rock corrected her. "Not Rock... it was like nothing mattered anymore... for those few minutes between when they told me what had happened, and when I teleported off to attack... it was like I wasn't even slightly myself. All that I knew... was that Wily had to be stopped. And Blues... I DIDN'T CARE HOW." He looked at his brother. "I didn't care, Blues! If I had gone up against Wily with that same mindset.... I might have... have..." He lowered his head again. "I should be dead now. For what I considered... I should have gone into mind freeze. But I didn't."

"That's because you didn't actually DO it." Blues informed his brother. "Look, Rock. The three of us are very complicated works, I'll give you that. We may be as close to humans as robots can get. But what you gotta realize is there are downsides to that as well. A lot of what we experience... what we remember... isn't actually real. You may THINK you would have violated the First Law... but thinking something and actually doing it are two seperate things. You're really the most spiritually advanced of us all... in a highly-charged state of emotion, it seems you can think about violating the First Law without raising alarms. But don't think you could actually do it. Even when Gamma had gone critical, you pulled Wily out of the cockpit to try and save him. Even though that failed... you still did everything you could to preserve a human life... your worst enemy's life. You're up against the boundary... but that boundary remains as solid as ever. You're not a threat to humanity, little brother... and I'm confident that you will never have to worry about that."

"Yeah... I guess so." Rock smiled weakly. "Geez, Blues... where did you get all that? You sounded like a psychologist."

"Eh, I talked with Doc Froid a few times in my youth." Blues shrugged. "He taught me a few things about the human psyche, and it seems it applies here as well." He smiled reassuringly. "Something else he taught me is that it's not good to dwell on these gloomy discussions. Let's get our minds off of this... how do some video games sounds to you two? Maybe a racer?"

"Sounds good." Roll grinned evilly. "Of course, you both know I'll kick your butts, right?"

"Excuse me?" Rock laughed. "You? I don't THINK so. I'm going to win this so easily, you won't believe it!" Blues blew a raspberry.

"Neither of you has a chance against the old man. I've got experience on my side, so get ready to eat dirt!" Happily arguing, the three Light children walked into the living room to play. Eddie watched them for a second, forgotten for the moment. He blinked once or twice, then walked upstairs to pursue his own devices.

In northern Russia, it was snowing; thick, deep snow that would have made a seldom-traveled road in the wilderness completely inaccessible years ago. Now, though, mack trucks came with attachable plows for this kind of situation. One such truck was currently making its way across one of those roads.

"Hey, Johnny." The man in the shotgun seat turned to the driver. "You reckon we're almost there?"

"Looks like it, Mitch." Johnny grunted. "About time, too... why does the doc have to live so freakin' far out here, huh?"

"This is your first time makin' a delivery to Cossack, huh?" Mitch smiled. "I'll tell you why; the doc lives in a freakin' castle. Ancestral or somethin' like that. I dunno why he does it myself, but hey, you know the drill with these eccentrics. Just stay quiet, make the delivery and collect the pay."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Johnny nodded. "A castle, huh? Boy, that'll be somethin' to see, I'll bet. He lives there all by himself?" Mitch nodded.

"Pretty much. He's got his 'bots, of course, but no Robot Masters as far as anybody knows. Still, they pretty much run the show; they handled all the shipments I've taken there. I've never actually seen doc Cossack himself." Johnny shuddered slightly.

"Man... hope this is a quick transfer, then. Don't tell anybody, but those things really kinda give me the creeps."

"Robots?" Mitch raised an eyebrow. His friend nodded.

"Yeah... I dunno what it is, really. Just somethin' about 'em... how they're as smart, or smarter than us... but they don't got minds of their own, they're just doin' what they're programmed to. And how powerful some of them are... I just don't like it."

"Well, like you said, they don't got minds of their own." Mitch reminded him. "So what's the big problem?"   
"You stupid or somethin', Mitch?" The driver stared at him. "The Robot Rebellions, man! That crazy ol' Doctor Wily! Robot Masters on the rampage! Ring any bells?"

"Oh yeah yeah, right right."

"Robot Masters in particular creep me out..." Johnny continued talking as he drove on. "I mean, they look almost human... but you know they're not. I saw some of the things that happened in those Rebellions... all those robots killin', slaughterin', all without even a bit of hesitation or guilt... nothin' even remotely human in their eyes. Just doin' what the programmin'... the programmin' altered by Wily... tells 'em to do. Even the 'good' ones... just lookin' at 'em, at any of 'em, in the eyes... you can see they would do the same thing if their programmin' was changed too. Somethin'... somethin' just ain't right about the whole thing." Mitch frowned.

"Well, they ain't all like that. What about that one guy... Mega Man, was it? Yeah, him! He was a pretty good guy, wasn't he?"

"Mega Man..." Johnny mumbled. "I really dunno, Mitch. Mega Man and his two. 'siblings'... Roll and Blues... aren't they smarter than other Robot Masters? Almost humanlike or somethin'?"

"That's what I've heard." Mitch agreed. Johnny's scowl deepened as the truck came near Cossack's Citadel.

"Now, look Mitch. Maybe they can make a copy of a human's mind pretty well; that I can accept. But makin' a human soul just like that... no, I don't think so. What if one of THOSE three just 'decided for itself' that it should attack humanity or something?"

"Naw, Johnny. Mega Man wouldn't do that." Mitch argued. "He went out to fight those Rebellions... riskin' his own life. Nobody told him to do it... he decided to do it by himself. Somebody who'd decide to do that... not once, but three times... no, he wouldn't do that."

"I hope you're right, Mitch... I really do hope you're right." Johnny pulled the truck to a slow crawl. "I think we're there now... yeah, there's the sign. Freakin' snow... I can't see much else." And then, as if the complaint had been a signal, the cold weather halted its fall, clearing the sky for the trucker to get a clear look at the home of the man named Dr. Sergei Cossack. "Whoa..."

"Hey, I told you it was a freakin' castle." Mitch told him smugly. Johnny just shook his head.

"I know... but still... whoa." Ahead of the truck, a gigantic building loomed like some carved mountain. Spiraling towers were visible over the thick square outer wall, connected by twisted bridges. At first glance, everything was made out of ancient, time-weathered stone; however, closer examination found a piece of metal armor here, a hidden laser there, evidence that beneath the surface, Cossack's castle was packed with technology.

"Front gate's straight ahead." Mitch directed his friend. Johnny nodded and drove the truck up to the castle, where a massive stone gate barred the way. "Just a sec." Mitch got out of the truck and pressed a doorbell almost humorously small compared to the gate, then returned to his seat. Several moments passed; then, with a creak, the gate slowly opened itself.

"So, we just drive in?" Johnny asked nervously. Mitch nodded.

"Yeah. Robots'll meet us a little way in."

"Whatever..." The trucker drove on in, only jumping slightly when the door closed behind him. The courtyard was completely covered; as he drove forward, a robot materialized out of the dark so suddenly it was like it had teleported. "Whoa!" The robot blinked.

"Are you carrying the load of supplies from Moscow?" Although it was humanoid in basic form, its monotone voice showed it was no Robot Master, emulating human mannerisms. The robot looked to be built after an egyptian mummy; for some strange reason, its face was permanently fixed in an idiotic grin. Johnny nodded, pulling out his ID card.

"Yeah... we got the whole shipment here."

"Excellent." The robot didn't blink. "Bring the truck this way." Turning away, the robot led them to a wall of the main fortress. A thick yellow pole rose out of the snow, extending up into the dark. The mummy-bot indicated that they should stop with the back of the truck facing the pole, then pressed a button in the wall.

"What's that?" Johnny asked his friend. Mitch frowned.

"I think it's a lift..." He was right; the pole began moving downward, and a wide yellow platform appeared, attached at the top. It wasn't until it reached their level that the two truckers realized it was already occupied.

"Error! Error! Kabatonki unit 2 should not be occupying this platform!" The mummy-bot beeped in confusion. On the lift was a massive purple hippopotamus robot. It was very heavily armored, and when it yawned, a pair of what looked like missile launchers were visible in the mouth. Johnny and Mitch watched, wide-eyed, as the lift went back up, not saying anything until it was gone.

"What was that...?"

"I dunno..." The mummybot turned to them, calm and collected once more.

"We're sorry... there will be a short delay while the lift his cleared. We apologize for the wasted time."

"No, it's okay." Mitch told him. "We're fine." Several minutes later, the lift came back down, empty. The two truckers opened up the back of their vehicle and unfolded the ramp, then pushed the boxes of supplies down it and onto the lift. The mummybot checked each one as it was unloaded. When they were done, Mitch and Johnny returned to the cab and waited for the mummybot to finish.

"Excellent. Everything seems to be here." The robot signed the form that confirmed the delivery. "Please exit the way you came in." It took the lift up with the supplies, and the truckers quickly followed its request.

"Johnny... did you see that thing back there?" Mitch asked nervously. Johnny grunted.

"I saw it."

"I ain't no robotocist, but that thing was armored like a tank!" Mitch continued. "And those things in its mouth looked an awful lot like missile launchers to me! Johnny, that thing was a warbot... but I ain't seen one like that ever before!"

"Mitch, I'm gonna give you some advice." The older man muttered darkly. "Don't mess with trouble like that if you can avoid it. I don't know what's going on in that castle, and I don't WANT to know. It's bad news, whatever Cossack's been holed up there doing, and the less we're involved, the better." He fixed the other trucker with a steely glare. "Now, listen Mitch. Back there, we just had ourselves a nice, easy delivery. We delivered the materials, and that's it. We never saw no warbot, you hear me?" Mitch gulped.

"Y... Yeah, Johnny. We just keep our mouths shut and our eyes on our own business." Johnny gave him a tight grin.

"Exactly." The two men drove off, both thinking about what they had seen back in the castle, and both hoping that whatever dark designs Dr. Cossack was up to in his castle, that they would never see any part of it again for the rest of their lives. Behind them, the castle's giant, stone gates slowly closed again, premitting no more contact with the outside world... for now.


	3. Chapter 2: Nothing Lasts Forever

**__**

Chapter 2: Nothing Lasts Forever

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"However, such things cannot be said to truly 'end.' There is no end to conflict; there is only a short time in which we regroup before the next battle begins." -Dr. James Cain, Reploids And Their Place In Society

"Come on... come on... YES!" Blues yelled as his car blasted across the finish line in first place. His siblings fell back and groaned.

"Aw, man... that had to have been luck!"

"Or cheating..." Rock muttered. "After some of the things I saw 'Break Man' do in the Third Robot Rebellion, I wouldn't be surprised one bit." Blues grinned and gave his brother a noogie.

"Yeah, right little bro! Face facts; Johnny Turbo with me at the controls is unbeatable! Now, what were we betting again?"

"Betting? What betting?" Roll asked innocently, a little too quick. Blues just gave her a look.

"Oh, no you don't, sis. Don't even TRY any of that stuff. Rock, do you remember what we bet?"

"Yeah..." The younger boy sighed. "We have to do your household chores for a week."

"That's it?" Blues blinked. "Man, I KNEW I shoulda pushed for money. Ah well, at least there's no more dusting or sweeping for me until next friday. Wonder when dad's gonna..." He stopped and looked out the window. "Nevermind, there he is... hey, dad. How'd it go?"

"Hello, Blues. Rock, Roll." Dr. Light greeted them as he walked into the house. "It went fine; it was good to see Dr. Corbun and Mr. X again, and Vinkus was better behaved than usual."

"Will wonders never cease." Roll... well... rolled her eyes heavenward. Dr. Light just shrugged.

"I've given up trying to justify that man's attitude a long time ago, Roll. As long as he's civil, I consider it a good meeting. How has your afternoon been? The front yard looked suitably chaotic, so I assume your snow games were a success?" Rock frowned, remembering how it had ended.

"Yeah, I suppose so. About that... there's something we need to talk to you about." His siblings nodded. "Either of you know where Eddie is?" On cue, the little suitcase robot trotted down the stairs. Dr. Light blinked.

"Is something wrong with Eddie?"

"You could say that..." Roll thought for a moment. "The problem is... well, at the end of the snow war, Eddie spontaneously made the decision to join in. Creamed us all really good, as a matter of fact. But that's not the point here. The point is, HOW? Eddie's just a robot... isn't he?"

"Yes... yes, this is troubling." Dr. Light frowned, eyes widening as he looked down at the brown robot. Eddie beeped innocently. "Give me a moment to think about this..." The doctor sat down in a chair. After a few seconds, he turned to Roll. "Could you please get me all the files from Eddie's schematics folder, as well as those of his yearly checkups?" Roll nodded.

"No problem." Within a few minutes, she had returned with the files. Dr. Light perused them, then smiled.

"Hmmm... interesting. I thought it might have been something like this..."

"What? What is it?" Rock demanded. Dr. Light shifted his gaze to him.

"Well, Rock... do you remember what you and Roll were like when you were first activated? Not nearly as bright as you are now. Rather dull... structured. In a word... robotic. However, you grew out of it in time... you learned more eventually, as Blues did." The senior robot nodded.

"Yo."

"It didn't stop there, though..." The doctor continued. "You kept on growing... slightly, but you did. Up until the point where you began to defy the Third Law of Robotics on occasion... and the second..."

"Yeah..." Rock looked down. "If you don't mind... could we not dwell on that too much?"

"No problem. Back to Eddie..." Dr. Light looked back at the papers. "What Eddie has been doing... at a much slower, greatly decreased rate for the past several years... is much the same. These charts indicate a miniscule increase in his mind... eventually culminating in what happened today."

"But... how?" Roll shook her head. "He's just a robot... a very advanced one, yes. But no Robot Master."

"Well..." Dr. Light picked a few papers out. "There's a pattern in the increase. Although Eddie was built and activated years before, the increase didn't begin until Blues was created... and it stopped after he disappeared, not recurring until Rock and Roll's creation. It went on from there, at a slightly increased rate... which got even greater after Blues rejoined us."

"So what you're saying is..." Blues whistled in realization. "That this has to do with us?" Dr. Light nodded.

"Yes. It seems the presence of Advanced Robot Masters has a highly stimulating effect upon the more advanced ordinary robots. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Rush teaching himself new tricks one of these days." Rush, the robotic dog of the Lights, was a bright red mutt with an overenthusiastic personality, a great eagerness to please and a fondness for greetings at high velocity. He had also helped Rock in the Third (and last) Robot Rebellion with his abilities to transform into a springboard, a jetboard or a mini-submarine. Hearing his name, the robo-dog raised his head from where he was curled up in a corner and barked. "Anyways, Eddie spent a great deal of time observing you three, so it's natural that he'd try to pick up on some of your behavior with his new thought processes."

"Well, we don't want to go TOO far with that line of thinking." Roll said, casting a sly glance at her eldest brother. "If he hangs out with Blues too much, he might start wearing shades and whistling all the time. Having one robot in the house doing that is more than enough."

"You should talk, sis." Blues shot back. "Imagine the poor guy in drag and a blond wig, with a tongue sharper than Vinkus'!" Roll calmly reached over and grabbed her brother by the hair.

"I'm sorry, dear brother. I don't believe that I heard you correctly. What was that last comment?"

"I refuse to answer that question by reason of wanting to avoid having to buy a toupee."

"Children, please." Dr. Light sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Not now. I've answered your question for you; actually, it should be very interesting to see how far this progress. It's pretty much impossible that Eddie will ever rise up to your level, or that of any Robot Master, but it will still be worth observing, methinks. Not now, though. Right now, I feel like taking a nap."

"Go ahead, dad." Rock shrugged. "Not like there's anything world-threatening going on any more."

"Thank god for small favors..." Dr. Light commented wryly as he turned and walked up the stairs.

"Third Ring, this is Dr. Cossack. Report." Dr. Sergei Cossack ordered into the computer's microphone, opening a voice connection. A moment passed, and a robotic voice responded to the call.

"Dr. Cossack. Unit SKD-38 ID#90 reporting as ordered. The setup of defenses here is nearly completed; as planned, the Third Ring of the Citadel should be fully operational by 2000 hours GMT tonight, barring any unforseen major mechanical errors." Dr. Cossack sighed and leaned back in his chair. Dr. Cossack was a tall, relatively slim man in his mid-thirties, with orange hair and beard that had not yet begun to grey around the edges. He lifted his glasses and sat back up, nodding.

"Good, #90. My Citadel must be completely reinforced by midnight. That is when we shall launch our attack; at the zero hour. In the middle of the night, nobody will be on guard. Why should they be? They expect no more of these... but they are wrong. Tonight, we shall change the minds of many people... in more ways than one. There are many ways to look at what we will do tonight... a long-needed lesson, perhaps even a wake-up call to the world..."

"Sir?" The robot on the other end of the line asked mildly, not designed to understand such talk. Dr. Cossack realized that he was mostly just talking to himself and spoke to the robot again.

"Forget it, #90. Never mind; it's not that important. Return to your duties now. I expect you and the rest in your section to have the Third Ring completely up and running by midnight GMT at the very latest; when we launch our attack, the Citadel HAS to be impregnable. No room for error, do you understand me?"

"Yes, Dr. Cossack. It shall be done." The connection died. Dr. Cossack pulled up a map of his citadel and began inspecting it.

"Good... First, Second and Fourth Rings are running smoothly, with no problems. That just leaves the Third Ring, and my citadel will be impenetrable, as it needs to be... as it must be, in order for what I have labored for to work successfully." The young doctor bowed his head, eyes closed in sorrow; when he opened them again, they were filled with tears. "Everything I have done... I had no other choice, no options. There was only this. Kalinka, please forgive me...there was no other way." His face stiffened, became resolute. "I had to do this... even though I damn myself, and damn all of my labors in robotics, by doing so." Dr. Cossack closed the map and opened some more communications links. Eight of them, to be precise. "All Robot Masters, this is Dr. Cossack. Report the status of your respective forces. Over." Once again, the room was silent for a short time; and then, eight different voices began to respond at once.

"Unit eight here... everything is going fine, for once."

"Unit seven. No problems."

"This is Unit six. We're ready to launch at any time, doctor."

"Unit five reporting. The attack can commence at your command."

"Unit four is at 100% of our capabilities."

"Unit three is okay to go."

"Unit two coming in... we've got everything handled here."

"I guess that just leaves us... unit one. Like the others, we're all just waiting on your call, doctor."

"Good, good." Dr. Cossack nodded in approval. On the other side of each of those connections was a Robot Master... one of his own personal design, completely unique. "You all know your orders?"

"Of course, Doctor." The commander of unit four replied. "We are robots, after all. We are designed to follow and execute orders by our very nature, are we not? We know what we're doing."

"Good... and I don't know about that question any more, really... definitions almost always change over time, after all, and robots in particular..." Dr. Cossack passed a weary hand across his brow. "But now is not the time to think about such things. Now is the time to prepare for what we shall have to do soon. Next question. Do you all know your targets and goals?"

"I see no reason why not." The commander of unit two spoke again. "None of us are stupid, are we? You should know, doctor; you built us, after all. Once we are given important information, we remember it, and you have supplied us with everything we need to know in both of those fields."

"Humor me." Dr. Cossack replied tersely. "Repeat them." The voice of unit eight's leader sighed.

"Very well, doctor... our targets are eight specific and highly valuable locations the world over. My unit, for example, shall depart for the World Garbage Processing Plant, in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. The other seven shall do much the same in different places. Once we arrive, we shall seize our locations, garrison the units there, and imprison all the humans as hostages. We are not to harm any of them, simply to hold them prisoner. Then, when the target arrives, we are to devote all of our unit's forces to his complete destruction."

"Excellent. That's it exactly." Dr. Cossack congratulated him. "Now, then. You are the who, you know the what, where and why, and as for the how..." He smiled briefly. "Well, I should hope that requires no explanation."

"From anybody other than you, it would be an insult to even suggest otherwise, doctor." Unit five's leader growled.

"Patience, brother." The third reprimended him. "Anyways, doctor. That leaves only one factor for you to enlighten us on. When."

"Indeed. That is why I called you all." Dr. Cossack agreed. "The when... very well. We will make our move... tonight, at midnight exactly, Greenwich Mean Time."

"A good time for it... I always do prefer the night." The seventh commander agreed. "And if I'm not mistaken... will tomorrow not be three years to the day since the destruction of the third Skull Fortress?" Dr. Cossack nodded grimly.

"Indeed it shall be."

"Trust you to know about skull-related things, brother..." The sixth unit's leader rumbled in a deep bass voice. "Thank you for sharing that... I doubt I would have figured it out on my own. An auspicious date indeed... when the so-called 'Ultimate War Machine' was destroyed, and Dr. Albert Wily-"

"I have asked you before not to mention that name." Dr. Cossack interrupted him curtly. "Please, try to show some memory retention for once. Do not do it again, understood?" There was an awkward silence before the apologetic robot master spoke up again.

"I am sorry, doctor. It shall be as you command."

"Good." Dr. Cossack nodded. "You all have your orders, and you all know what to do. At midnight, carry them out. You are dismissed." Seven of the connections were cut off; however, one remained open.

"Doctor, are you absolutely sure about what we are going to do?" The commander of the first unit asked him, worried. "I did not want to say this in front of the others, but... I have some... misgivings about this... about the whole thing."

"You are not the only one, Pharaoh Man." Dr. Cossack addressed the Robot Master by name for the first time.

"It is still not too late, doctor. We can change the plan, call it off before midnight, stop it..." Dr. Cossack's eyes flashed.

"No, Pharaoh Man. You're wrong; we cannot do that. It's too late... things have progressed far too much for us to turn back now, even if we wanted to. The attack shall go forth, as planned... I order it." Pharaoh Man fell silent, then sighed.

"As you command, Doctor. Pharaoh Man out."

"This meeting of the head council of the United Nations will now resume. Counciller Martel presiding." The white-haired man announced. The meeting appeared to be a simple congregation; men and women from all over the world gathered in a large chamber, each sitting in their respective places to represent their homelands. However, this was not as it looked; thanks to modern technology, each counciller was actually in a similar room in their own country, facing realtime holographic representations of the other members. Even those who disliked overly relying on technology, such as Darwin Vinkus from Japan, had to agree that this was an excellent and effective usage of holographics. Counciller Martel from the United States shuffled through some papers, then cleared his throat. "Our last order of business for today... the authorization for the creation of Robot Masters by individual members of society." A shocked murmur ran through the congregation. Before, Robot Masters had only legally been produced by the big-name corporations in Robotics; Lighttech, the first, with their Achilles, Heracles, Orpheus, Hephaestus, Helios and Icarus models; the now-defunct Sennet Robotics, which had created the Magnus, Spinstrike, Ripwood, Zapplug, Smashbody, Pinhead, Serpos and Gemini models; and the simply named US Robotics, who while not having any on the market currently, had announced that they would be changing that very shortly with such models as "Starshine" and "Tsunami." The only evidence of individual, non-corporation creation of Robot Masters aside from the initial "births" of Blues, Rock and Roll was when eight other Robot Masters had been produced illegally by Dr. Albert Wily for the second Robot Rebellion. Darwin Vinkus was the first to recover from the shock. He raised his hand, and Martel nodded. "You have the floor, Counciller Vinkus."

"With all due respect to you, and to the other councillers, I must protest this in the strongest terms possible!" Vinkus spluttered. "Allowing construction of Robot Masters by private citizens? Unthinkable!"

"What is so unthinkable about it, Counciller Vinkus?" Louis Arcian from France countered. "Robot Masters have been in production for five years now for years with no problem... in fact, with a great deal of success. Both Lighttech and Sennet's models were great successes-in their time-and US Robotics shows to be continuing that soon. Allowing this will only further the success, and the benefit to humanity!"

"Need I remind you of the eventual fate of both Lighttech's and Sennet's Robot Masters, Counciller Arcian?" Vinkus growled sourly. "Fodder for the Robot Rebellions, all of them, pitted in a war against humanity itself! We should consider ourselves lucky to have survived ONE of those, let alone THREE! And here, you want to create the potential-nay, the probability-for yet another Robot Rebellion? How many times will you throw humanity to the mechanical sharks before you realize what a threat Robot Masters are to all of us, Counciller Arcian? How many times?"

"Your argument leaves out a pair of very crucial points, Counciller Vinkus." This time, the speaker was Elizabeth Coombe of England. "In fact, the two most key points-and people-of the Rebellions. Firstly, there is the fact that all three of the Rebellions were the fault of one man... one HUMAN man. Dr. Albert Wily was the true cause of the Robot Rebellions, and all of the Robot Masters, whether Lighttech, Sennet or his own design, were simply his tools." The UN representatives, like the rest of the world, believed that the entirety of the Third Robot Rebellion had been Wily's fault as well; a subterfuge designed by the Lights to conceal the involvement of the maniacal Doc Man in order to prevent Vinkus' mindset from becoming dominant. "Secondly, there is the sole reason that we DID survive those Robot Rebellions. It was not luck, Counciller Vinkus. It was because of one boy... a ROBOTIC boy. Rock Light, or Mega Man if you prefer, stepped forward not once, not twice, but thrice to put his own life on the line for the preservation of humanity. That, more than anything else, speaks for the Robot Masters."

"Rock Light... Mega Man..." Vinkus muttered. That name-those names-brought back memories, memories which he would prefer to forget... of the night when Mega Man departed to assult the Third Skull Fortress, and the look on his face... Darwin Vinkus had his own reasons for doubting Mega Man, but they were reasons which none of the other UN members would believe. "It is true that Mega Man singlehandedly saved us from Dr. Wily, Counciller Coombe. However, this is not neccessarily a completely good thing. Do we really want to place the safety of the entire world on the shoulders of one robot? Such a course of action seems foolhardy to me, to say the least. What if something should happen to him? Mighty as he is, Mega Man is still made of mortal metal and wiring like any other robot. If he was destroyed, or worse, and another Rebellion occured..."

"What do you mean, 'or worse,' Counciller Vinkus?" Arcian frowned. "What could be worse than destruction for young Rock?"

"Well..." Vinkus looked downward. "For all his strong points, we must remember that Rock is, after all, not human. He is still a Robot Master. Can he truly understand the same way of life as us? What if he were to change... to decide that perhaps humans aren't so great after all?"

"Counciller Vinkus, with all due respect, I think you should cease that line of thinking immediately." Martel growled. "There are some things which we do not say, some lines we do not cross, out of decency if nothing else... and you are coming very close to one of them. We owe that boy a tremendous debt of gratitude, and we will not listen to you sullying his name here." Vinkus smirked.

"Very well. I simply wish to remind all of you of the threat implicit in any powerful technology, robotics included. Any kind of power must be used carefully, lest it turn and destroy those who use it; this is a basic rule known by all humanity. Do you remember the Third World War, gentlemen? I know that I do... there, humanity came within a hair of ending it all by using the most deadly technology to date; nuclear weapons."

"But the Second Rainbow countered that... healed the world, using technology as well." Coombe argued. Vinkus glared at her frostily.

"Counciler Coombe, do you think I am an amnesiac, perhaps? I myself was one of the members of the Second Rainbow before I came to this position. And I can tell you, it was not all heroism and world-saving, especially to a boy of sixteen, which I was when I was summoned there."

"Precocious." Arcian muttered. Vinkus continued on as if he hadn't heard.

"Yes, we created marvelous new technology. Yes, we preserved our existence with it. But we did so knowing the threat it could all become; and some of it was turned to evil in the Rebellions. Any marvel can be perverted, councillers; especially that of technology. As I've said before..."

"Excuse me, Counciller Vinkus, but I believe you are starting to repeat yourself." Martel stopped the technophobe in his tracks. "You seem to have finished all that there is to be said on this issue. I now call for a vote on the issue. Should construction of Robot Masters be allowed for private individuals? Remember, this is an anonymous vote, so don't worry about showing your views." Each of the councillers made a decision on their computer screens. Some chose almost instantly, like Vinkus and Arcian, and some took longer. Eventually, the last of the representatives from Switzerland made her choice, and all of the computer screens showed the results; the authorization was passed. Vinkus growled some unprintable words in several assorted languages, but raised no further open resistance. Martel smiled.

"Excellent. It shall take effect at exactly midnight tonight, Greenwich Mean Time. Now, unless anybody has something of drastic importance that simply cannot wait, we shall adjourn for the night. Or day, for some of you." The councillers shook their heads.

"There was something I wished to bring up, considering a certain robotocist, but it can wait until tomorrow." The Russian representative shrugged. Martel nodded.

"In that case... meeting adjourned."

"Yawn... good evening, Rock. Roll, Blues." Dr. Light greeted the Light children as he walked down the stairs. "Did anything of earth-shaking importance happen while I was napping?"

"Oh, not much." Blues deadpanned. "Old Doc Wily rose from the grave and came barreling down the street in a tank is all. We pelted him with potatoes and peaches until he headed for the hills." Roll whacked him over the head. "OW! What the heck was THAT for?"

"For being an idiot." Roll answered calmly. "Ignoring Blues' warped view on reality, no, nothing important happened, dad." Blues glared at her and muttered something about the full moon. Dr. Light nodded.

"Ah, good. I didn't want to miss any tank attacks. They usually come in around this time of the day, after all." That comment earned him a couch pillow to the face courtesy of his oldest son. Rock sighed and covered his face.

"Clowns... all of you..."

"What was that?" Roll blinked. Rock just sighed.

"I'm surrounded by clowns in this family. You three are causing more trouble with each other than Rush did when he suddenly got the bright notion that it would be a good idea to chase Eddie around the house at top speed." The robotic dog barked happily, while Eddie emitted a few low, dismayed beeps.

"Aw, cheer up, bro-bot!" Blues seized Rock in a fierce noogie again.

"Will you stop doing that?!" The younger robot yelled. Blues shook his head, smile unwavering.

"See, there you go again. Remember what I kept telling you back when I was Break Man? Don't be so gloomy all the time! Relax a bit, take it easy, enjoy life! And it looks like you didn't listen too well, which is why we're giving you a refresher course! Trust me, it'll increase your life expectancy, if nothing else."

"Robots don't acquire physical health problems due to their anger and/or depression, Blues. That's humans." Rock smiled anyways. "Anyways, I'm not the serious one by choice, you know."

"Oh?" Roll raised an eyebrow. Rock nodded firmly.

"Yeah. You're a wisemouth, dad can be a bit of a doofus, and Blues is just plain wierd."

"I'll take that as a compliment, bro." The elder robot whistled his favorite tune nonchalantly. Rock shot him a glare.

"As I was saying... Rush is hard to control, and Eddie... has been acting odd as of late."

"Oh, I get it." Dr. Light suddenly realized. "Eddie was the anchor of normalcy up until recently... and now that he's been acting up, you're feeling more like that position yourself." Rock shrugged.

"SOMEBODY's gotta do it... if for no other reason than keeping the rest of you from blowing up the house or something."

"Why?" Blues asked him. "Why does somebody have to be 'normal?' Face facts, bro; our little family is about as UN-normal as possible. Show me one other family in the world that contains both humans and Robot Masters on equal-well, nearly equal-terms, and I'll show you a great steaming pile of horse-"

"We get the picture." Roll interrupted hastily. Rock's smile grew a bit wider.

"Heh... point. But still... I don't know why, but for some reason... there just needs to be something holding things down to earth, keeping them from getting TOO out of whack. It's strange, really..." Blues blinked, and his eyes narrowed. Once again, he mentally thanked himself for always wearing the oversized shades; the others couldn't see what was going on in his eyes, which came in handy a lot of the time. Such as now.

"Even so, bro... nobody said you had to be gloom and doom to be stable. Come on, I know you're really a happier guy than this. You were fine this morning. Crack a joke or something!"

"What'll you do if I do?" Rock challenged. Blues thought.

"Hmmm... well, it can't just be anything. Tell you what. Remember that bet we made on the racing game? If you get Miss Cynical Roll to laugh, I'll reverse it and do YOUR chores for a week." Rock grinned and snatched something off the table.

"Done and done!" He splashed the contents of the bottle on Blues. The elder robot let out a mild oath and frowned, examining his clothes.

"What the-thanks a lot, bro. What THAT was supposed to be, I'll never know. Hmph... this stuff should wash out. What is it?" Rock grinned even wider, showing him the bottle.

"A-1 steak sauce. And now... oh, Rush!" The robotic dog's ears perked up, and he immediately came to attention, sniffing at the air. Blues' eyes widened as he realized what would happen.

"Aw, no... I'll get you for this, Rock!" Swearing, he bolted for the front door with Rush in hot pursuit, barking happily. Roll nearly fell over laughing.

"HAHAHAHAHA! He'll be running for hours! That's one for your side, Rock, no question about that!"

"I rather liked it." Rock smirked. Dr. Light shook his head wearily.

"Children... sometimes you amaze me, and sometimes the opposite. I'm going to go make myself dinner. Please, try not to destroy the house." Muttering to himself, the robotocist walked away.

"I'm gonna go up and use the computer for a bit." Rock told his sister. "Care to place a bet on how long Blues is gone?"

"With your luck tonight, no way, bro." Roll declined. Rock left up the stairs, saying only one more word.

"Spoilsport!"

"Ugh..." Roll's attention was drawn to the front door, where Blues was walking back inside. She blinked.

"Now, I'm really glad I didn't place any bets... where's Rush? How'd you get him off ya?"

"Ever seen a DOG stuck up a tree?" Blues replied tersely. Roll winced.

"No... can't say I have."

"Look out front." The elder robot looked around. "Both dad and Rock gone?"

"Yeah... other things to do." Roll nodded. Blues sat down in a large armchair and motioned for her to take a place on the nearby couch.

"Good... we need to talk. I figured out what Rock meant with all that about anchorage to reality..." Roll sat, curious.

"Oh? What?"

"Quite simply... it's an effect of the Rebellions. Particularly his enemies... Wily and Doc Man were both stark raving bonkers. Poor Rock had to deal with nutjobs, fight them, a lot more than any kid should have. Remember what he was like near the end of the Third Rebellion? I wasn't in this house with him, but I still saw him a lot, so I know. That still hasn't completely gone away, even after three years... it probably never will." Roll nodded, slightly amazed by the perception of her goofy-seeming brother. She had to keep reminding herself that there was a lot more to Blues than what he chose to show outwardly most of the time.

"So what can we do to help him?"

"To help?" Blues shrugged. "There's not much... he's the only one who knows how his thoughts really work. All we can do is try to keep him happy and cheery... and hope that there aren't any more Rebellions."

Dr. Cossack had not spoken in the last hour. Ever since the Third Ring had been completed, finishing his Citadel, the russian doctor had stayed motionless and silent, contemplating what he was about to do... what he was about to unleash upon the world once more. None of his robots had disturbed him, as per his orders. But now, it was nearly time. With one last silent apology, Dr. Sergei Cossack opened his eyes.

"The time has come." Watching the clock set to Greenwich Mean Time out of the corner of his eyes, he sent out eight communications links once again, to the eight seperate forces massed outside his Citadel.

"Doctor, everything is ready. We await your command." Pharaoh Man, commander of the first unit of the robot army, spoke for all of them. Dr. Cossack nodded briefly, not turning away from the clock.

"It shall come, Pharaoh Man. This has been so long in coming; a few more seconds will not make a difference, and the time is not yet midnight yet."

"This hardly seems the time for melodrama, all things considered, doctor." Pharaoh Man observed. "You humans can be very strange at times... as if you see rationality different from us Robot Masters." Dr. Cossack chuckled sadly.

"I suppose we do, Pharaoh Man... I suppose we do..." The clock hit Midnight, and announced it with the noise of bells far too large to fit inside a tiny electronic timepiece. But Dr. Cossack did not care; he had his mind on other things as he straightened his back and raised his voice. "There... the time is now! All units, teleport to your locations! Let the Fourth Robot Rebellion... BEGIN!"


	4. Chapter 3: Russian Rebellion

**__**

Chapter 3: Russian Rebellion

"Yawn... morning, everybody." Elias Salguerdo, head of the Rio De Janiero Power Plant in the capital of Brazil, greeted his coworkers as he walked into the meeting room. "How's the old generator doin' today? Still intact?"

"We haven't blown it up yet, but we're working on it, boss!" One of the technicians cracked. Salguerdo rolled his eyes.

"Funny, Pete. Funny. Okay, let's get to work. First order of business..." He frowned as he looked at the papers in front of him. "New coffee machine?"

"Yeah, the old one's completely fried. It just finally gave out." Pete filled him in. "We need a new one if we want to continue keeping this place in any sort of working condition."

"This is hardly a matter of drastic importance-" Salguerdo started, but was cut off by cynical laughter from almost everybody else in the room.

"Sure, to the guy with his own private mini-maker in his office. Boss, either that machine is fixed or we are broken, and so is the plant. It's not that difficult a concept, really."

"All right, all right." Salguerdo muttered, throwing his hands up. "We'll have a new coffee machine in by next week. Quit your complaining. Is everybody satisfied with that?" They all nodded. "Good. The next order of business..." He looked at another paper. "Is a problem in the robotics department?" A woman sitting two seats down from him nodded and spoke.

"Yes... we use old Sennet DWN-Ps and WT-100s here... or, as they're more commonly known, Dawnpons and 100-Wattons. Like I said, they're some pretty old models, and some of them are starting to break down to the point that nobody except the man himself would be able to repair them."

"Kate, by 'the man' you mean...?" Salguerdo raised an eyebrow. Pete laughed at his boss's confusion.

"Where you been all these years, boss? She's talking about Sergei Cossack! Biggest brain Sennet had! That boy coulda been a match for Light and Wily if he hadn't resigned." Kate cleared her throat to attract their attention back to her.

"Ahem... anyways, we really need to look into getting some new robots that can do their jobs here. The old ones are just plain falling apart; before long, they won't be good for anything except looking shiny." Salguerdo nodded.

"All right, I'll accept that. Take some time and look through what Lighttech and US Robotics has to offer, and I'll send some budget your way for it."

"Can do, boss." Kate nodded. The boss grunted and checked the next piece of paper he held.

"Now, we've got... security issues? Carl?" A heavyset man further down the table nodded.

"Yeah... security around here is almost nil, and I think that's a pretty stupid thing to do. We're pretty far out from the city proper, and there are still a lot of guerillas and such lurking out there in those jungles, even now. If some of them took it into their mind to seize the plant, we-and the whole city-could be in some very serious trouble." Salguerdo just laughed.

"Yeah, right, Carl. Do you know what the odds of anybody attacking this place are?" He frowned as he heard a crashing noise slowly growing louder. "Does anybody else hear that?"

"Yeah..." Pete frowned. "Seems to be coming from down the hall... what do you suppose is going-" Suddenly, with a fading hum, all the power died, and they were sitting in the dark. Salguerdo cursed and jumped to his feet.

"Dammit... what's going on here?"

"Only thing I can think of is... the core's out." Pete muttered. "Question is, why and how did that happen? I don't like the smell of this, boss..."

"None of us do, Pete." Kate reminded him. "Let's get a 100-Watton in here... it'll light the way for us to get to the core and find out what's going on. Wait... here comes one now." There was a bright light slowly approaching from down the hall. "Hey, you! Come over here!" The light paused for a moment, then quickened its pace. "All right, we're going to need you to-huh?!" The light had stopped in front of them, close enough that they could see what was creating it. It was not a 100-Watton.

"Aaah, more humans." The Robot Master smiled. He was a rather round orange-armored fellow, with a humanlike face that would have been cheerful under other circumstances. His most obvious feature, though, was a gigantic light bulb plugged into the top of his head, the source of the light. Salguerdo stepped forward.

"I've never seen or heard of a Robot Master like you before... who... what are you, and why are you here?"

"Well, I'm not surprised that you haven't heard of me..." The Robot Master chuckled mechanically. "I'm one-of-a-kind. Solo. Completely unique. And this is my first time in the outside world; I've been cooped up inside the castle belonging to my... father, I believe is the human term... for the two years of my life. I got lucky; this Brazil is a rather nice place. I rather like it, which is a good thing, since I'm going to be staying here for quite a while."

"What do you mean by that?" Kate demanded. "And you didn't answer the boss's questions." The Robot Master just smiled.

"Oh, I'm afraid he's not the boss here anymore. I am, now. Hostile takeover, you could call it. As for your questions, might as well get them all out of the way and save time later on. My name is Bright Man, serial number DCN003. That means, by the way, that my creator was Dr. Sergei Cossack."

"Cossack?" Pete yelled. "Is HE behind this?" Bright Man nodded.

"Correct, human. The doctor sent me and seven others out with robot armies to eight locations, which you folks were lucky enough to be at one of. Our job is to take over, which I'll do now. I believe that answers all of your questions."

"You can't DO that!" Salguerdo practically screamed. "The Rules of Robotics! I hereby command you to leave now, under the Third Law." Bright Man just shook his finger at him.

"Ah ah ah, human. You're wrong. The Three Laws have been... suspended, shall we say... in us. It's completely illegal, of course, but so is everything else we're doing. Let me spell it out for you. Nothing you can say or do will stop us, because this, my dear humans... is the next Robot Rebellion."

"No..." Carl whispered. "No... Wily's dead... there aren't supposed to be any more of those..." Bright Man frowned.

"Little human... if you think that one human is the only person capable of such deeds, you are wrong indeed. Especially when given... motivation... but I digress. The Rebellion is here, humans, like it or not."

"Are... are you going to kill us now?" Pete was shaking. Bright Man sighed, actually sounding reluctant, even though it was all just a simulation of emotions.

"I would really prefer not to. Dr. Cossack is not out to rule the world... he has a different, very specific purpose in mind here. Thus, we're going to do things... different. If you behave well and don't try to resist, then you will not be treated badly. You shall be hostages, plain and simple, and you will not be harmed. If you try to resist or escape... well, like I said, the laws of robotics are suspended for us. I'll try my hardest not to kill you-Dr. Cossack doesn't want fatalities-but I can't promise anything. It really would be a lot better for all of us if you just went along quietly. You're not our enemy, really; you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." His eyes were wide with programmed sincerity. Salguerdo frowned.

"If I thought you were capable of lying to us..."

"Silly human, of course I can lie!" Bright Man laughed. "What you should realize is that I have no REASON for doing so. If I wanted you dead, I could just kill you here and now. Obviously, I don't." Salguerdo looked at the others, and sighed.

"All right, Bright Man. We'll go quiet. What do you want us to do?" Bright Man smiled.

"Splendid! Come with me, please; the robots are all putting the rest of you humans in one room. I believe it's your employee lounge."

"At least we won't get lonely..." Carl muttered. "Boss, I hate to say I told you so, but..."

"Shut up, Carl."

Rock wished that he was dead.

It had looked to be a normal, peaceful day. He and his siblings had woken out of stasis at roughly the same time as Dr. Light had his morning coffee and breakfast. Blues had cheerfully turned on the television, saying he wanted to catch the Saturday morning cartoons... and they had all seen the emergency news bulletin.

"No..." Rock murmured.

"-And in the deserts of Egypt. These eight locations are now completely overrun by the robots..." The reporter announced, looking frightened.

"God, no..." Rock murmured.

"There appear to be no casualties as of yet... for some reason, the robots seem reluctant to take human life. Nevertheless, it is clear what is going on..."

"Please, god, no..." Rock murmured.

"Eight Robot Masters unlike any the world has ever seen. Eight locations captured and held hostage. Eight armies of deadly robots. This is what we had hoped would never happen... the Fourth Robot Rebellion is here."

"Please, god... not again..." Rock fell to his knees. If robots were capable of crying, Rock would. "Not again..." Blues, Roll and Dr. Light had all gone grey in the face. There was no movement from any of them as they stared at the television announcing its grim message.

"Once again, the eight locations that have been attacked are... the New York Sewer System, the Rio De Janiero Power Plant in the capital of Brazil, the deserts of Egypt, a government laboratory in Northern Canada, the Los Angeles World Garbage Processing Plant, an abandoned castle in Transylvania, the Norwegian coastline, and a mine in the Swiss Alps. A reason and mastermind for this attack have yet to be found... since the death of Dr. Albert Wily during the Third Robot Rebellion, it was thought that another would, could never occur..."

"It shouldn't have..." Rock whispered, banging on the floor with his fists. "This... this SHOULD NOT have happened! It was over... it was done! We were free..."

"And now, it all comes crashing back down on us..." Blues grunted. "Sorry, bro... looks like fate ain't done kicking us around yet."

"Who..." Rock continued without looking up. "Who did this... who brought the Rebellions back..."

"I think we're about to get an answer to that question, bro." Roll told him. Rock jerked his head up to watch as the news broadcast started breaking up, fading into static. Then, the static cleared... but what it showed was not a news broadcast. It was a symbol; a golden letter "C" with "Dr." inside it above some progressively smaller lines. A red star overlapped the whole thing, and it shone before a black background. After a few moments, the emblem retreated to a corner of the screen. In its place, it left a man sitting behind a desk, a cocky smirk on his face. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, tall and relatively lanky with orange hair and beard.

"This looks almost like the broadcasts Wily used to make when he wanted to brag about something 'rebellious'..." Roll muttered. "But who's that guy... dad? What's wrong?" Dr. Light had, if possible, gone even paler.

"That's... Cossack's boy... Dr. Sergei Cossack..." Blues frowned.

"The kid of the Second Rainbow guy? Ex-Sennet robotics genius? Hmph... well, I think we just figured out who built those eight robot masters..." Suddenly, Dr. Cossack began to speak.

"Greetings, to the people of this world, from Dr. Sergei Cossack. I am pleased to announce that my plans for this day have been carried out to fruition exactly as planned. As you no doubt already know from watching the news, you are currently under a state of emergency. Berserk robots, valuable places under attack and all that. I'll make it clear for you; the Fourth Robot Rebellion is here. Yes, that's correct. The Fourth Robot Rebellion." He threw back his head and laughed, deep and mocking. "Oh, you poor, foolish people... did you really think that just because one man died, nobody else would use these Robot Masters for themselves? For the benefit of my friends at the United Nations, the Rebellion is HERE, gentlemen. You will not be able to make it go away by covering your eyes and pretending it doesn't exist, or by pumping money into somebody's pocket. My goals are far more... extensive, you could say. Doubtless you'll try anyways, but I felt I should give you fair warning that it won't work."

"Gee, do you think this guy doesn't really care for the UN?" Blues muttered sardonically. Roll shushed him as Dr. Cossack continued to speak.

"Now that we've gotten those little pleasantries out of the way, perhaps I should tell you all about the exact situation here. My eight robot armies are in complete control of their locales, each led by a powerful and unique Robot Master of my design. Perhaps I should introduce them... boys?" A section of the wall slid away, revealing eight monitors set in it. Each one held the face of a different Robot Master. An egyptian-king type, with striped headdress... a red robot with a yellow ring motif... a round orange face with a huge light bulb attached to the top of the head... a green, toadlike robot with no mouth... another red one with a drill-head... a white, skull-headed one... a heavy-set set robot built like a submarine... and a small-faced robot whose head was dominated by an oversized square hole above the eyes. "Citizens of the earth... meet Pharaoh Man, Ring Man, Bright Man, Toad Man, Drill Man, Skull Man, Dive Man and Dust Man." Dr. Cossack introduced them proudly. "They are my greatest creations... and the cornerstones of this Rebellion."

"We live but to serve, doctor." Dive Man responded. The bulky robot's head was dominated by a tiny periscope that would have been funny under other circumstances. Dr. Cossack nodded.

"Exactly. My Robot Masters are very loyal, citizens. They do what I tell them and nothing more." A phone next to Cossack began ringing. The doctor regarded it for a second, then calmly pulled out a gun and shot it. "As you can see, unlike the previous master of the Rebellions, I do not accept calls while making a broadcast. You'll just have to hope I answer all your questions myself... which is likely, since I think I know most of what you want to ask. Disregarding questions about my sanity, that is... that one, I'm not even really sure of myself anymore." For a moment, he looked almost sad, but then he shook his head and returned to the confident smirk. "Now, then. I suppose you're all wondering WHY exactly I'm doing this. For those who aren't, who think they already know, let me shock you by telling you... you are wrong. I do NOT have global ambitions, unlike the former doctor behind the Rebellions. Not at all."

"That's different, at least... Roll muttered sardonically. Blues shushed her as Dr. Cossack continued to speak.

"Let me tell you something interesting. Something else that sets this Rebellion apart from the rest... did you know that, so far throughout this entire Rebellion, there has been not one human casualty? That is correct, not one life has been taken. What I want is hostages, not corpses... I'm not going for a terror campaign here. However, don't make the mistake of thinking me soft; I still have the locations, and I still have the hostages. And I DEFINATELY have reason to keep them. You see, citizens, this Rebellion is not targeted at you. Not at all. You are simply innocent bystanders... tools. The true focus of this Rebellion... of all of this... is on one man. One family. The Lights. Doctor Thomas Xavier Light."

"_WHAT?_" This actually seemed to penetrate Rock's stupor. He leaped to his feet as Roll nodded grimly.

"You heard him, bro. It seems after all those Rebellions, this guy's decided to just skip the middleman and go after us directly. I wonder what we did to tick him off... I thought you and his father were on good terms, dad."

"So did I, Roll... so did I." Dr. Light buried his face in his hands. "What has come over Sergei..."   
"I think he's about to tell us." Blues answered, pointing at the screen.

"For years, I worked at Sennet Robotics... slaving and toiling, creating robots for the world." Dr. Cossack rambled, eyes glinting through his glasses. "Works of genius, the best I could do... they could change the world... and yet, month after month, year after year, the popularity reports always said the same thing. Lighttech! Lighttech! Lighttech! No matter what I did, those two doctors at Lighttech always were better! Then, the last straw came. They revealed their greatest creation... robots that were almost like humans! ROBOT MASTERS! I couldn't take it anymore... I resigned from Sennet, using the excuse that I was protesting their production of warbots. Then the Robot Rebellion came... and I suddenly had my answer. I could do that as well... start a Rebellion, and PROVE that I was the superior robotocist after all! It took me a long time... first to create my own eight Robot Masters, then to make the army of lesser robots. In fact, it took so long that one of those doctors had died by the time this was all ready. But the other is still alive, and so is his... family." He grinned evilly. "Over time, my goals changed. I don't want to kill Dr. Light... no, he is an old friend of my father's. I can accomplish the same thing... prove my superiority... simply by destroying his son, Mega Man!"

"Aw, hell." Blues vented his opinions on the subject.

"Mega Man, here is my challenge to you!" Dr. Cossack laughed. "To the robot who stopped the Rebellions! Go to each of the locations, and see if you can defeat MY Robot Masters! It's a win-win situation for you; win or lose, the hostages will be set free. The moment you die, the Rebellion ends. You have my word." He stopped laughing, but that cold smile still remained on his face. "If you DO defeat all of them... well... we'll see what happens then, shall we? You know where they all are, so until then, Mega Man!" The screen faded to black, fuzzed up with static, then returned to the news broadcast, looking for all the world as if nothing had happened to change it. Only the looks on the faces of the Light family... sorrow, disbelief, anger, confusion... told the difference, about what had just taken place.

"What the HELL is going on here?!" Darwin Vinkus screamed. Counciller Martel looked at him irritably.

"Counciller Vinkus, PLEASE. Hysteria will do nothing for us now." An emergency meeting of the UN had been called almost the moment after Dr. Cossack's challenge had been aired on every channel on the planet. All of them had been quick to respond; even those for whom it was the middle of the night now had already been wide awake thanks to the chaos going on all over the globe. Said chaos was currently doing a pretty good job of reproducing itself at this meeting as well, and Martel's advisement was being taken as a suggestion by most of the members... and ignored by most of them.

"I demand that retaking the power plant be our first priority!" Counciller Salguerdo, the representative from Brazil (and the brother of the head of the power plant in question) yelled forcefully.

"Those robots are trespassing upon the Valley of the Kings! That is sacred ground!" The Egyptian representative countered him.

"The laboratory is of vital importance..."

"Ships are being attacked, pillaged and sunk all along it..."

"They'll terrorize the populace from that castle..." It seemed like every representative from a country under attack viewed their own problem as the top priority, and the other countries were just as noisy, choosing sides and clamoring at each other. Somewhat surprisingly, it was Vinkus who eventually managed to restore order. Narrowing his eyes in thought, he grabbed a desktop lamp and flung it into the floor with all the force he could muster, shattering it. The noise caused by the crash carried over the transmitters to all of the UN members quite loudly, shocking them into silence. Vinkus let them stare for a moment while he took a few deep breaths, then spoke.

"Counciller Martel is right. Hysteria will not solve anything, on my part or anybody else's. We need calm, logical thought and action right now, people. Not high-strung emotionality. Before you start up again about how you have every right to be upset, those of you whose countries have been attacked, keep in mind that Counciller Martel trumps you all. The United States were attacked in TWO places, and he remains the most reasonable of us. Perhaps that is why he presides. Counciller Martel, would you care to suggest a _reasonable_ plan of action?" The white-haired American nodded, glad that for once Vinkus was on his side.

"Thank you, Counciller Vinkus. Ahem... perhaps we should start by examining the man behind this Rebellion. Dr. Sergei Cossack. Counciller Mikhail, he is from your country... what can you tell us about him?" Mikhail, a beefy man in his midthirties, coughed once before speaking.

"Not as much as I would like to, unfortunately... but I shall do my best. Dr. Sergei Cossack is descended from a noble line dating back to as far as half a millenium ago, quite probably further. The hereditary home for the Cossacks is an ancient castle built in that time period, noted for its impregnability. It had not actually been inhabited, however, for several centuries until a few years ago, when Dr. Cossack moved back in and refurbished it, apparently to live a hermitic life away from society." Mikhail sighed regretfully. "We now know, of course, that this was not the case. His father, Dr. Yuri Cossack, was a member of the Second Rainbow... correct, Counciller Vinkus?"

"That is correct, Counciller Mikhail." Vinkus nodded, a bit sadly. "Yuri wasn't too far ahead of me in age, so we got along well... he would often stick up for me in an argument with one of the elders, like Hume or Froid. Yuri was a medical doctor, but right from the start, his son was into artificial construction... I remember seeing him as a baby using complicated building toys meant for six-year-olds. He got a job at Sennet Robotics when he was just sixteen..."

"And he worked there for more than a decade, until he resigned, quickly rising to become their lead robotocist." Mikhail continued, then paused for a moment. "I am not sure if this is important, but... he had a wife, Kalinka Romanov. She died in childbirth a few years before Dr. Cossack resigned... I am not sure what happened to the child. At any rate, Dr. Cossack moved to the castle and locked himself up inside it. He never came out; the only contact with the outside world was over the internet, and with the supplies he ordered to be delivered."

"Have you questioned the men who made those deliveries?" Arcian from France asked sharply. Mikhail nodded.

"Yes, we did. First thing. Most of them said the exact same thing; that their shipments were recieved by humanoid robots, with no sign of Cossack at all. However, the pair who made the last delivery, scarcely a day ago, had a different story to tell. They claimed they had, by accident, been shown a very nasty-looking warbot completely alien to them. They admitted to being no skilled robotocists, but said it appeared to have armor like a tank and what looked like missile launchers. It seemed to be designed like a purple hippopotamus."

"That description meets with a warbot seen in our research facility that was attacked." The Canadian representative confirmed. "There were two of them; they were very powerful."

"This is bad news, colleagues." Vinkus said gloomily. "Let us just hope that model is not representative of Cossack's armies as a whole... what?" He suddenly turned, apparently to look at nothing to the views of the other UN representatives who saw his hologram. "What is it? They're here NOW? Grr... well, I'm in conference, so I'm afraid Dr. Corbun and Mr. X will just have to wait!"

"Is there a problem, Counciller Vinkus?" Arcian inquired, raising an eyebrow. Vinkus shook his head.

"Not at all, Counciller Arcian. Just a few friends arriving at the wrong time... they will create no further interruptions."

"Wait a second." Martel interrupted. "Dr. Corbun, did you say? As in, Dr. Trent Corbun?" Vinkus nodded.   
"Yes..."

"Dr. Corbun was the head of Sennet Robotics until it collapsed, correct?" Martel continued. "Perhaps he would know something about Cossack we do not... ladies and gentlemen, I realize this violates long-standing tradition, but I suggest that we allow Counciller Vinkus' guests to join us. Are there any objections?" There were none; even the most traditional member was affected by the magnitude of what was going on now. "Very well. Counciller Vinkus, if you please?" Vinkus nodded and left the room. A few moments later, he reentered, along with Corbun and X.

"Honored Councillers, we are grateful to be allowed here today." Mr. X greeted them, a bit nervously. "You wish to know about Dr. Sergei Cossack?"

"That is correct." Martel nodded. Corbun frowned in thought.

"Well... if you had asked me before today, I would have told you that I knew Sergei as well as anybody else, and better than most." He chuckled bitterly. "I would have been wrong... because the Dr. Cossack I thought I knew would never have done this. As long as I knew him, Sergei was a very bright, eager young man... very talented in robotics. He came up with many, many excellent ideas that are still being used, even after our collapse... that's the only part of this whole mess that makes sense to me. If anybody besides Light and Wily could have made an army of robots like that, Cossack..." He paused for a moment, then resumed. "But he was always in opposition to warbots... he never liked the idea of robots being made for the sole purpose of killing. It was that that eventually made him resign, he said... of course, we know that was a lie now. I wonder how much of it was a lie... how much I really knew of the man. It's not a nice thought... that one of my oldest friends was just a fake, a shell for the real Dr. Cossack underneath... who is causing this Rebellion now." In the unccomfortable silence following that, Martel spoke up again.

"I believe this would be a good time for a break... we shall resume in fifteen minutes." As the councillers disappeared, one by one, the white-haired American turned to Vinkus. "Darwin, could I have a word with you in private?" Vinkus nodded. Corbun and X were the last to leave; once they were gone, Martel sat next to his colleague. "I'll get straight to the point here. We don't get along very often; we have a difference in opinions on almost everything. But we're both shrewd men, Darwin. We're not really accomplishing anything here; a bunch of tired old men and women chewing over the same stale old facts. It's not DOING anything."

"Your point?" Vinkus said, dreading the answer.

"My point... is that we both know who the only person who can actually do something is. I need you to talk with them, Vinkus... ask them-him-to help. It's our best chance at stopping this, and I know you know it." Vinkus DID know it; personal opinions, fears and prejudices aside, he found himself facing the cold, hard truth of what he would have to do-what the world would have to rely on. Sighing, he slowly nodded.

"All right, Edmund... all right. You're correct... I'll call them right now."

"I have come to a conclusion." Blues announced. Roll glanced at him.

"And that would be...?"

"Life hates us." The elder robot told her. The two of them were still sitting in the living room, Roll on the couch and Blues occupying a large armchair. Dr. Light had gone up to the laboratory, and Rock... who knew. Blues shifted around a bit in his seat before continuing. "I mean, you'd think we'd have gone through enough... what with Wily, and Doc Man, and Gamma... and it was all over, done, finito. We did our time... we deserved our peace, you know? And now, bam. Out of the blue, life kicks us in the ass and shoves us right back into the warzone. Three years of peace together, and then..." He paused for a moment. "Three years of peace... for three Rebellions. Something symbolic about that, maybe."

"More likely just dumb luck." Roll commented. "I've never believed in symbolism that much." Blues looked at her, a bit surprised.

"You don't? That's odd..."

"What's so odd about it?" The female robot frowned. "It's just part of all that supernatural hoohah... stuff humans make up to explain the unknown. Ridiculous... cryptozoology, symbolism, religion... just garbage."

"You don't believe in ANYTHING?" Blues blinked incredulously. Roll made a rude noise.

"Of COURSE I believe in things, dummy. Real things; cold, hard, proven fact. Things I can actually see and touch. The rest... the unproven, the imaginative, the fantastic... forget it."

"I've got further to go than I thought..." The elder robot muttered under his breath. Roll glared at him.

"And just what was THAT supposed to mean?"

"Nothing... nothing at all." Blues smiled innocently. Roll, not amused, prepared to deliver a sharp retort, but was cut off by another voice from upstairs.

"Roll... Blues? Could you please find Rock and come join me up here?" Dr. Light's voice was tired and filled with an odd sort of regret. Blues and Roll looked at each other, then simultaneously answered.

"Sure, dad."

"Right away." They checked all the room downstairs, without any luck; Rock was nowhere to be found.

"All right. Let's look in the forest next." Roll decided. Walking out into the back, they split up and began searching through the trees. It was Blues who eventually found their brother, sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was a good place to just sit and think, and both of them had used it several times.

"Why won't it stop?" Rock asked without turning around or showing any other nonverbal signs of recognising his brother's arrival. "Haven't I done enough? What more does this world want from me?"

"You're asking me?" Blues smiled sadly. "I don't really know, Rock... for a long time when I was away from here, lost in those jungles after the teleporter accident, I asked myself a very similar question... and for a long time, there was no answer. But eventually, I found my way... eventually, it ended. It may take a while, Rock... but someday, all of this will end. Until then..."

"Until then, we keep going." Rock sighed. "Yeah, I know... we have to keep moving. Keep going..." His brother nodded.

"About that. Dad wanted to see us... up in the lab." Rock grunted and got to his feet, turning back to the house.

"All right... let's go." The two of them walked back to the house, where they met up with Roll.

"There you are." She greeted them. "Shall we go up and see what dad wants to show us?" The three robots walked to the lab, where they found Dr. Light sitting in front of a monitor. He turned around as they walked in.

"Rock... I had hoped this was all over... that you would never have to fight again... but..."

"So did I, dad. So did I." Rock nodded. "But it looks like our hopes didn't come true... what do you have-" He fell silent as he saw what was on the screen. Blues and Roll leaned over as well... and Roll gasped in surprise. There were three windows, one large and two small. In the first small one was a diagram of the workings of the Atomic Fire weapon Mega Man had acquired from Heat Man in the Second Robot Rebellion. The second small window held the schematics for the weapons system of Sennet Robotics' Zapplug model. What they had in common was one thing; the ability to charge, to store up firepower and release it in one supercharged blast. What the main window held... was the schematics for the Arm Cannon. The Arm Cannon was the main weapon of Mega Man and Blues; it fired bullets of contained plasma. This was nothing new; they were all familiar with it after three Robot Rebellions. What was different was that the plans onscreen incorporated the same charging functions as the Atomic Fire and the Zapplug's weapons. Rock's eyes widened as he realized what this meant.

"Dad... you can..."

"Yes, Rock." Dr. Light nodded. "I actually had the idea for this during the Third Robot Rebellion... but then, I had thought Gamma would make it unneccessary. And after that... after Al's death... I thought there would be no need for it. I was wrong... and so, I bow to neccessity. This is the Mega Buster Mark I... an upgrade of your Arm Cannon. It utilizes the same technology... firing plasma... but allows you to store up a charge and release it in a supershot, up to two levels of power. If my guess is correct, you're going to need it... but remember, the same restrictions still apply. DON'T fire both arms at once... don't even CHARGE both at once, or it'll overload your systems. In other words, explosive suicide. I know you survived something like that twice, Rock, but please... don't tempt fate with it a third time." Before Rock could respond, he was cut off by the ringing of the vidphone; somebody was calling. Blues checked it and groaned.

"It's Vinkus... want me to blow the phone up again?"   
"NO." Roll told him firmly. "Put him on... if HE's calling us now, it's got to be important." Blues nodded and accepted the call, as Vinkus' face appeared on the monitor, looking reluctant.

"Thomas... Mega Man... Roll... Blues..."

"My name is ROCK." The younger male robot growled. Vinkus nodded.

"I'm sorry... Rock. I... I'm calling you, really, not Tom. I... have a request."   
"A request? Not an order?" Roll responded tartly.

"No... not an order. This is not from the UN." Vinkus sighed. "Understand that this goes against everything I stand for... but it seems I have little choice in the matter. I'll get straight to the point. We're not doing anything over here... not accomplishing anything. At this point, it'll be months before the UN accomplishes anything... and we don't HAVE months. This is a very dangerous situation... Cossack could go off at any time. There aren't any casualties... and I'd like to keep it that way. Rock... I'm not going to order you to do this. I will simply ask you... to do something. Cossack's animosity is directed at you alone... I think you're the only one who can fight him without his hostages paying the price."

"I know... Counciller." Rock's voice was stiff and formal. "I realize this. I've known it for hours now... I have to do this, despite my own desires. I know that you wish it could be otherwise... that this would have never come to pass. I feel the same way. But now is not the time for wishes... it's the time for actions. I'll put a stop to this... I'll stop Cossack."

"Thank you..." Vinkus' face sagged in relief. "I wasn't sure... but nevermind that. You... you have my... gratitude, Rock. Good luck... and godspeed." The connection faded, and the politician's face disappeared. Rock... Mega Man... turned to his father.

"How soon can you install that... Mega Buster?"

"Within a few hours." Dr. Light told him. "It won't be long."

"Good..." Mega nodded. "I've made my choice... and the sooner I can get done with this, the better." At that moment, another person in the room made a choice of their own... a regretful one, but a choice nonetheless. And in the corner of the room, another robot, small and unnoticed, made a choice as well. It was a time to make choices, for everybody... for it was choices that decided the future. Mega Man... had made the choice to fight once more. And Dr. Cossack... would regret his choice to start this Rebellion.


	5. Chapter 4: Cleanup Job

**__**

Chapter 4: Cleanup Job

__

"You know something, Crys? Screw Serges. Screw all of 'em. So I'm a moth. So I work in junk. When you look at my specialty, you just see worthless garbage. A fatal mistake... because I know how to make the slag work for me. Anybody who underestimates the scrap is gonna get a hard lesson in the art of junkyard wars."-Maverick General Morph Moth under the X-Hunter Triumverate, during the Second Maverick Uprising

"All systems check out. We're ready to go." Roll announced. She, Dr. Light and Blues were all wearing protective gear. Rock, however, was inside the upgrade capsule. The old piece of machinery had been used since the First Rebellion to modify Rock, from installing the armor and arm cannon to putting in Robot Master Weapons Chips. The younger male robot was stripped down to his shorts.

"Any time you're ready." He called to them. Dr. Light nodded.

"It's a good thing Blues still has his armor... without it to use as a model, it would have taken a lot longer to reconstruct yours." Rock's previous set of armor, which he had used for the past three Rebellions, had been completely destroyed at the end of the Third when he had launched himself in a suicidal Top Spin energy overload to destroy Gamma, the Ultimate War Machine... an act that had almost claimed Rock's life along with the slagged armor.

"If you blow up this armor, brother, we're going to melt down your video game collection for the next one, so watch it!" Roll joked, checking a monitor. "All right... the Mega Buster seems to be integrating perfectly with the suit... wait a second." She looked up, frowning. "What's this 'Variable Weapons System 2.0'?"

"Ah yes, I had almost forgotten about that..." Dr. Light smiled. "Another upgrade for you, Rock... in the past, you always had to bring the Weapons Chips back here to get them installed. No more... with this, you'll be able to acquire the weapons in the field from a defeated enemy. It's not much, but..."

"Helpful, nonetheless." Rock nodded. "It's great, dad, but could we hurry up, please? It's already been a day... and I don't want to think about what Cossack will do if he gets impatient."

"Point made." Dr. Light agreed. "All systems go! Three... two... one... NOW!" He flipped a switch, and Rock's world was suddenly nothing but bright, flashing light. Dimly, as if only watching somebody else going through it from far away, he felt burning pain envelop his body... lighter at some points, worse at others... gradually, though, the pain faded, leaving only the light. With the exception of his hands... they kept burning, the pain growing more and more, until it was no longer dim and far away, until he was screaming from it. Somehow, he realized that the pain would lessen if he willed it all into just one hand. And it worked; his left hand was suddenly fine, as if nothing had ever happened. His right hand, however... it screamed for release, for some way to get rid of the fire-

"WHOA!" Blues yelled, diving out of the way as a giant blue supershot of plasma came tearing through the upgrade capsule and across the room before slamming into a wall, leaving a smoking crater. All three of the Lights stared as Rock slowly pried himself out of the ruined capsule.

"The Mega Buster works." He told them sheepishly. Blues gave him a look.

"Yeeeeaaaaah, we kinda gathered as much, Rock. I should certainly hope so; if that WASN'T the Mega Buster working, I don't think I'd like to see what IS. Why the hell'd you do that, anyways?"

"It wasn't like I did it intentionally." Rock explained. "I just felt it building up in my hands, and I had to get rid of it."

"Wait. BOTH HANDS?" Roll exploded. "You IDIOT! That could have been Double Buster Overload! You almost killed yourself!"

"Saving Cossack the trouble, huh..." Rock muttered. "At any rate... it worked. Mega Man is back." The armor he wore was a icy blue undersuit, with darker blue thicker armored gloves, boots, helmet and (much to his embarrassment) tights. He made his hands into busters, one at a time, and nodded. "Everything seems a-okay."

"Don't go testing those things out here any more, okay?" Blues sighed, running a hand over the crater and wincing at the extent of the damage. "You've already killed our property value. And the Upgrade capsule."

"!!!" There was a frenzied beeping from low to the floor at this announcement, and the Lights all looked down at Eddie. Roll frowned.

"What is it, Ed?" The little suitcase robot responded with a stream of binary, and all three of the Light children's eyes widened. "WHAT?"

"What did he say?" Dr. Light asked, worried. Rock was staring at Eddie.

"He said... he said you need to fix the upgrade capsule... so he can use it..." He frowned. "Ed, what do you need it FOR?" Another stream of binary.

"You want a teleporter?" Blues looked confused. "Why do you want THAT?" Eddie rolled his eyes, then in a tone that even Dr. Light understood, told them something to the effect of "Shut up and let me explain." Then, he went on to do so; basically, he would use the teleporter to assist Mega Man by bringing him support items to refill his energy stores. An armor upgrade would be helpful as well, once they could do so, so that he wouldn't be completely vaporized by a stray bomb or anything. Dr. Light sat back, obviously disturbed by this.

"Eddie... WHY?" In order to help uphold the First Law of Robotics, the little suitcase robot went on. All the others were helping Rock, and Rock was saving human lives. Only Eddie hadn't been able to assist in the effort thus far... and now he could. By doing so, he would help minimize loss of human lives. It was a sound extension... but original thought on THIS level, coming from Eddie...

"...All right, Ed." Blues grunted. "You're right. Dad, how bad is that capsule?" Dr. Light examined it.

"Not that bad, really... we could probably actually stick that teleporter in you right now, Ed. It's not that complicated an upgrade, and the damage is to the upper part of the capsule. Additional defense, though... that'll need me to fix the whole thing first. Are you sure you want to get the teleporter put in now?" He was, Eddie confirmed. The Second Law of Robotics, that dealing with self-preservation, was, well, secondary next to the First Law protecting human life. Dr. Light shrugged. "All right..."

"How long will it take you to repair it, though?" Blues asked, strangely intent. Dr. Light thought for a moment.

"About a day. Why?"

"Oh, no reason." The elder robot shrugged. Mega glared at him.

"No reason? Yeah, right, bro."

"Fine, it's a secret." Blues smirked. "Tell you what, I'll let you in on it when you come back from your first rescue mission, okay? There, some extra incentive to come back alive!"

"It'll have to do..." Mega nodded. "Let's see here... eight locations. I'll head to LA first... get that out of the way."

"You got something against Californians?" Roll blinked. Her brother shook his head.

"No... but the attack site's the World Garbage Processing Plant. That promises to be even more unpleasant than the New York Sewer System... Cossack can really pick 'em in the US, can't he?"

"Nobody said he was gonna make it easy on you." Blues reminded him. Mega grinned weakly.

"Maybe I don't like easy. At any rate... I'm heading off now. I'll see you all tomorrow or so." With that, he disappeared in a blue beam of light. Dr. Light looked up after him sadly for a moment, then clapped his hands together.

"Well! Let's get to work, then. First Eddie, then repairing the capsule... we'll be busy, at least!"

"He's certainly taking his time with this..." Dr. Sergei Cossack muttered. The doctor was sitting in his control center; the giant main monitor was displaying a map of the world and constantly scanning for warp signatures. So far, nothing. "It's been an entire day since I made that transmission... and he hasn't made a move. What the hell is he doing?" There were several possibilities, none of them pleasant. One, he hadn't recieved the message. Highly unlikely, after all the trouble he had taken to make sure he DID. Second, he had recieved it and wasn't doing anything to stop it. More likely than the first, but still, doubtful. From what he had researched on Mega Man (and he had done a lot of research), the blue robot would sooner blow off his own head than let something like this go unhalted. That left the third possibility; that the delay was to prepare something for the effort. Some new weapon or something... a decidedly unattractive thing to think about. Dr. Cossack shuddered, then sighed. Not that all his worrying mattered, anyways. The Rebellion had been started; he had done it. Now, it was Mega Man's hand, and the russian doctor could only wait to see what his adversary played.

"Warp signature detected." The computer beeped at him, and Dr. Cossack smiled in relief.

"Finally... there he goes." The hand had been played, and it would reveal itself shortly. Cossack would be ready when that happened; he had already done too much, sacrificed too much for this Rebellion not to give every ounce of his being over to seeing it through. He HAD to... failure was inconcievable. The doctor shut his eyes, deep in sad thought for a moment... then opened them, once more fierce and determined. "Computer, what is the destination of the warp signature, and are we sure it is Mega Man?"

"Analyzing warp signature... please wait..." The computer responded pleasantly, before starting to hum. A short while later, it beeped again and brought up a map of the globe. Ten locations were marked there; his castle, the eight attack points being held by his Robot Masters, and Dr. Light's house in Tokyo, Japan. Above and below the map were pictures of the Robot Masters. Two of the points on the map were flashing. "Analysis complete. Warp signature belongs to Advanced Robot Master DLN001 Rock/Mega Man Light. Departure Point: Dr. Thomas Light's house, Tokyo, Japan. Destination Point: The Los Angeles World Garbage Processing Plant, California, The United States. This departure point is the exact same location as-"

"As Dust Man and his armies, yes I know, computer." Dr. Cossack nodded. "So he's going after Dust Man first, eh..." The doctor smiled. "I wonder why... possibly because he thinks Dust Man's weak.. easy to take out. If that's the case, he'll regret that mistaken decision before he's done... despite the questionable morality of their purpose, my Robot Masters are all mighty warriors. If Mega Man is going to underestimate them, that is his mistake... and his folly." Cossack frowned. "On the other hand, perhaps I am the one underestimating my opponent... Mega Man is a very powerful adversary. He DID conquer three Rebellions, even if he has not yet achieved his goal of stopping them forever. No, he would not underestimate Dust Man; he must have learned never to underestimate an enemy by now, or he would not have survived this long. And that day they took before he made any sort of response... I don't like it. I don't like it at all. Mega Man's up to something... he has to be." He chewed on his lip for a moment, deep in thought, then nodded as he came to a decision. "Right. Computer, open a communication to Dust Man at the WGPP in Los Angeles."

"Acknowledged." The computer replied before settling back into humming. Dr. Cossack sighed.

"Even today, it takes forever for a computer to establish a connection... oy. I suppose there's some deep, meaningful moral lesson in that... but for the life of me, I don't know what it is." He shrugged. "Don't really care, either. I have more important things to think about than ten-cent moral lessons like you can get out of a fortune cookie right now..." He fell silent and let the computer do its work. A few minutes later, the world map was replaced by a video connection. In the window, looking dully back at his creator, was the Robot Master named Dust Man.

"Good evening, Dr. Cossack." Dust Man greeted him in a monotone drone. The Robot Master's head was dominated by a huge, grey square opening that curled back into a huge, short length of tubing connected to his back. This apparatus was Dust Man's weapons system; it could create a suction force powerful enough to rip walls off, or expel his signature weapon, the Dust Crusher. Below the opening, all Dust Man really had for a head was a pair of eyes above the rest of his sky-blue-armored body. He blinked a few times before continuing with his speech. "If you do not mind my inquiry... what is the meaning of this call?"

"Of course I don't mind, Dust Man. Don't be silly." Dr. Cossack laughed. "If I minded, then why would I have made this call to you in the first place?" Dust Man blinked again.

"I suppose that makes sense... please explain then, doctor."

"I'm calling to give you a warning. Be prepared." Dr. Cossack explained seriously, all traces of humor now gone. "Mega Man has chosen you as his first target. Even now, he is en route to the WGPP. I would expect him to arrive there and come for you in only a short time."

"I see." Dust Man thought for a moment, looking slightly confused. "And... excuse me for asking, but... is that all you called me for?" Now Dr. Cossack was the one who was confused.

"Well... yes. Don't you think that's a sound reason to contact you? You need to know, after all..."

"And why is that?" Dust Man responded. "The knowledge that Mega Man is coming makes no difference at all. My robots are already at their most effective patrol patterns, and the plant is set up to repel him. If he makes it past, then we will fight, and the better Robot Master shall triumph. What does knowledge about his coming here soon change? I do not understand."

"...Dust Man." Dr. Cossack covered his eyes. "I... nevermind. Sometimes I wonder if you Robot Masters are really as advanced as you're supposed to be."

"Doubtful." Dust Man shook his head, uninsulted. "Human nature is such that it often exaggerates the greatness of its achievements. There is no reason that Robot Masters should be exempt."

"Yes, I suppose so." Dr. Cossack rolled his eyes. "However, believe me... I am not exaggerating about this. You are the most depressing robot I have ever met." Dust Man's eyes twitched in what almost looked like a kind of smile.

"You are the one who created me." The Robot Master reminded him. Dr. Cossack nodded.

"True, true. At any rate... I have to go now, Dust Man. Just remember... be on your guard."

"If you say so, Doctor." Dust Man sighed and nodded.

The first thing Mega Man saw was garbage. Lots of garbage. He wrinkled his nose. "I'm in the right place, all right." Created after the Third World War, the LAWGPP was part of a global reform towards safer and more efficient disposal. Trash was brought in from all over the world, the recyclables to be reprocessed into raw materials and the rest to be efficiently destroyed here. Above, Mega saw a line of inactive crushers that would normally be working to compress the waste he was standing on. "Good thing they're not on now..." He muttered as he started forward. And was promptly mowed down by a flying robot. Sputtering, the blue hero got back up and observed his foe. It appeared to be mostly just a mask made of plasma-deflective metal on jets. A single charged shot in the unprotected back, however, destroyed it. "That's a hell of a way to bring ya back to reality." Mega grumbled as he went on, absentmindedly blasting a nearby "hard-hat" Metool as he went. As he was about to jump over a disposal pit, something made him stop and wait. A moment later, a small, jet-propelled robot shot up out of the pit and began floating down. Mega smiled as he destroyed it.

"Looks like my instincts aren't as dull as I thought after all..." He made his way forward, past more pits and robots, until the trash cleared, revealing a hole in the floor that dropped down into an underground metallic hall. A rather grumpy-looking giant roadpaving robot made an efficient roadblock. Mega stopped in his tracks. "Shit." Unfortunately, the paver didn't feel inclined to follow his example; it lumbered towards him, hopping on its one crushing foot. A supershot to the face failed to destroy it; Mega tried twice more before cursing and sliding under it when it jumped to smash him. Turning, he blasted it again, and the huge robot finally gave out. Sighing, the blue hero turned back away and looked ahead. A huge gap stretched out ahead. At first, it looked uncrossable... then something rose from the pit. It was a metal block that assembled itself piece by piece. Shrugging, Mega jumped onto it, and another came together ahead of him. The pit didn't last long, but what was on the other side wasn't much better; the floor was covered with electrified spikes. One touch, and it would be instant death. And to make things worse, the metal boxes didn't stay up for long before disassembling again. Nevertheless, Mega made it across to a ladder leading back upwards. A pleasant surprise was waiting for him.

"Beep beep!" Eddie said cheerfully as he walked down the stairs to greet his friend. Mega smiled.

"Hey, Ed! Teleporter works, I see!" He patted the little suitcase robot on the head. "So, what've you got for me?" Eddie's top flipped up revealing a large energy capsule. "Excellent!" I.O.E., or Internal Operations Energy, was what powered Mega. Each time he was damaged, some of his energy was lost. If it went empty... kaboom. However, capsules of energy (in two sizes) used to power lesser robots could be used to replenish it. The one Eddie had would bring him back up to full from the masked crasher and some spinning ladybugs that had gone after him on the metal blocks. Grabbing the energy, he felt it sink in. "I owe ya one, Ed!"

"Beep!" Eddie teleported away, leaving Mega to continue his journey. Shrugging, he discarded the now-empty pod.

"I'm already surrounded by junk... one more piece won't make much of a difference." Mega rationalized as he climbed the stairs up to the next floor. He winced. "This is going to be fun..." Like at the point where he had warped in, large crushers lurked above, covering the entire ceiling. The difference was, THESE crushers were active. Fortunately, they didn't come down all the way, stopping only a couple feet above Mega Man's head before going back up and coming down again. Up ahead, a blockade of cubed slag filled the path, holding the crushers above it up. It was but the work of a moment to blast it away and continue. The second and third blockades posed no particular difficulty either, interspersed with "hard-hat" plasma-spitting Metool robots. After the third, however, the crushers were set lower; they would flatten Mega if he was under them at the wrong time. Destroying the fourth and last junk blockade from a distance, Mega waited until the crushers started upwards, then quickly slid under and past them. The Slide Technique had originally been designed for Sennet Robotics' Ripwood Model (later known as Shadow Man), but Mega had incorporated it into his own repertroire. Once he moved past the final crusher, the entire assembly suddenly ground to a halt and shut down.

"Looks like the Robot Master's watching me..." Mega realized as he looked ahead. "And it looks like I'm almost done here... this seems to be the end of the line for the whole process." Several huge incinerators were standing in the wall, filled with cubed slag to be disposed of, although they were not active. After a brief altercation with a particularly unusual large enemy robot resembling nothing more than a gigantic evil lottery ball machine, Mega climbed a ladder up to another floor. A single Metool awaited him over the spike pit seperating him from the ladder going further up. Unfortunately, he could not take it down from far away; Metool helmets were plasma deflective. As he jumped over to his enemy, the Metool raised it head to attack; but surprisingly, it began spinning in place while spitting a machine-gun-like stream of plasma. The surprised Mega Man took several hits before killing it.

"Seems Cossack's been tinkering with the design... I should've figured. Top floor! Pyromania, Robot Masters and hapless human hostages!" Up here, the incinerators were working, cheerily burning the large piles of slag. Mega made a note not to get too near them. Down at the end of the hallway, another huge road paver began stomping towards him. This time, however, the blue hero was able to take it out from a safe distance before it got near enough to pose a threat. Beyond it was a simple, familiar looking metal shutter. "I guess Cossack isn't too big on originality... the Robot Master's gotta be in there. And with luck, so are the hostages. Here goes nothing..." He walked in.

"So, here you are, Mega Man." Dust Man greeted his adversary. "I was wondering how long it would take you to bypass my defenses and arrive here." The blue-and-grey robot was calmly standing in front of a plain, unlocked door. Mega frowned.

"You were banking on me making it here?"

"Of course. You have successfully stopped three Robot Rebellions; it would be a waste of time to hope that you would be taken out by normal robots. I am not particularly interested in wasting time. Thus, let me get straight to the point. The hostages that you are here to rescue are through the door behind me. However, I strongly advise against trying to get to them without defeating me."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Mega chuckled dryly, raising his Mega Buster. "Aren't you going to make a cheap boast or something?"

"What would be the point of such a thing? You are not the type to be impressed by it." Dust Man stated. "We both know what will happen here. The two of us will do battle, and the superior Robot Master will emerge victorious. Live or die, my task shall be completed. I have no regrets."

"How honest you are." Mega muttered. "Well, let's get started then, shall we?" And on that note, the blue hero released the supershot he had been charging since he had first walked in. To say that Dust Man was surprised would be a gross understatement; his eyes widened to more than twice their normal size as the massive blast of plasma slammed into him like a mack truck.

"UNGH!" The Robot Master stumbled back. "What... what WAS that? We had no data that such a power even existed, let alone that it was yours!"

"Your creator's not the only one who's been busy for the past few years." Mega smirked, charging up another shot. "Care to give up now?"

"I think not."

"Worth a shot..." Mega sighed as he fired off the second supershot. Dust Man waited until the last moment, then leaped a good ten feet into the air over it! Mega stared up, then dived out of the way as his enemy landed where he had been a moment before. "Carumba! Cossack made you a freakin' kangaroo!"

"Something along those lines..." Dust Man said dryly as the large apparatus on his head hummed to life, creating a powerful suction force. Mega fired another supershot, but was dragged right up to his enemy, who delivered a powerful headbutt.

"Ow... that's a cute trick..." Mega slid away and fired again. Dust Man took the hit as his headgear sprung to life again, this time ejecting something instead of inhaling. It was a lump of slag. Mega easily jumped it and returned fire... and was hit in the back in three places. "ARGH!"

"Don't underestimate me, Mega Man." Dust Man told his adversary. "My Dust Crusher attack is more than it seems!" He fired again. This time, Mega jumped the attack and turned to watch what happened. When the lump of slag hit the wall, it broke apart into several fragments that ricocheted back. Mega easily dodged them, then on instinct, slid out from under Dust Man's attempt to crush him. The russian Robot Master turned to him with a look of surprise.

"How-?"

"You pick up a certain edge about these things after a while." Mega replied easily as he blasted Dust Man once more. Growling, Dust Man activated his vacuum attack again. "Bad move." Mega slid away from it to counter the pull, turned, fired straight into the opening on the headgear, and repeated. After the second hit, Dust Man decided to counter with a Dust Crusher. As it turned out, this was a worse move. Mega shielded his face with his arms as the headgear exploded, spraying shrapnel everywhere. Once the noise had stopped, he walked over to Dust Man, who was lying on the floor.

"Ugh... this was not... an entirely unforseeable outcome... ever since I saw you had charging, I knew..."

"Than why'd you fight me anyways?" Mega Man asked the dying Robot Master. Dust Man managed a sort of smile with his eyes.

"I... had to. Laws of Robotics... even though I knew. Pharaoh Man was... always best..." Mega blinked at this.

"Huh? What's this about Pharaoh Man?" But it was too late; Dust Man's eyes closed, and he was still. "Rats... I suppose I'll find out eventually. For now, I'll just test out the new Weapons Copy..." Cringing slightly, he reached into the mess of coolant that was Dust Man's head, and after a short time, found the Weapons Chip. There was a hum from his systems, and a new ability popped up; the Dust Crusher. Switching to it, Mega tested it out and found that it worked perfectly. "Looks like dad knew what he was doing... although I can't say I like the grey-on-white color scheme. Oh well..." Walking through the door in the back, he soon found the hostages. One of them stepped forward.

"Mega Man! Does this mean-?"

"Yes. I've destroyed Dust Man... you're all free. The other robots here will go running back to Cossack now." The man sighed with relief.

"Thank you... we are eternally in your debt for this."

"It's what I do." Mega smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go back home. Everybody, stand clear..." They all did, and with a wave of farewell, the hero disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"Hey, everybody." Mega greeted his family as he teleported back into the lab. "What's going on?"

"Oh, shit! Rock, cover your eyes, NOW!" Roll yelled. Mega blinked; this was not the welcome he had expected, but he did so. A few moments passed. "All right. It's okay now." Looking up, the robot boy saw that his sister and father were both wearing protective eyegear. Blues was nowhere to be found.

"Mind explaining what that was all about?"

"Blues is in the upgrade capsule." Roll pointed at the device, which Mega noticed was repaired. "You came in about three seconds before it activated. The power output would've fried your optics."

"See, that's why you need shades like mine." Blues picked up the conversation as he exited the capsule. The elder robot was back in his own armor, very similar to Mega's save for the coloring, which was brick red and iron grey. He still wore his shades with his helmet, and his favorite yellow scarf was wrapped around his neck. "They serve all sorts of useful functions, and dimming blinding light is only one of them."

"So, I assume you got the Mega Buster too?" Mega asked him. Blues nodded and shifted his hand into a buster.

"Yuuup. And the upgraded Variable Weapons System. Just a second while I test this out." He walked over to a window and leaned out it. "I think you've already done enough property damage to this old house for a while..." The elder robot fired a charged shot and watched it streak out into the sky. "Looks like it's working fine to me. Anybody see any problems?"

"Nope."

"Nuh-uh."

"None."

"Woof!"

"Beep!"

"Okay, then." Blues closed the window. "Now for the Variable Weapons System..." He frowned. "Rats. I had forgotten... there's no Robot Master around for that. Looks like that test'll have to wait..."

"Way ahead of you, bro." Mega smiled. "I figured you might be needing this soon, so I brought back Dust Man's weapons chip. Catch." He lobbed the small black chip at Blues, who caught it. Glowing for a moment, the elder robot's colors changed to grey and white. He made a face.

"This is a bit drab... but eh, whaddaya expect from dust? The point is, it looks like it works." He leaned out the window again. Or, at least he tried to. Rubbing his head, Blues ignored the snickers from his family and opened the window before successfully leaning out and firing a clod of the Dust Crusher, which landed on the front lawn down below. "Yup. Works fine."

"You're cleaning that up." Roll told him. Blues pretended not to hear her as he walked over and picked up the last part of his battle gear, the Proto Shield, from where it was leaning against the wall. An ovaloid piece of metalloy with a slit near the top for seeing through, plasma-deflective shields were commonly used by the Lighttech 12-KIF "Sniper Joe" robots. This particular piece, however, had been specially made for Blues by Dr. Wily during the Third Robot Rebellion, when he had been tricked into fighting for the mad doctor under the moniker "Break Man." The Proto Shield was, to all intents and purposes, indestructible by common weaponry. Now, Blues picked it up and strapped it across his back. Mega smiled; all he needed now was the disguising cycloptic facemask.

"Ready to come help me save the day again now, 'Break Man?'"

"Drop that name." Blues told him. "Break Man was Wily's guy. He's gone now. When I'm out doing the warrior thing, you can call me Proto Man from now on."

"Proto Man, since you're the prototype Robot Master?" Roll guessed. Her brother nodded.

"Got it in one, sis. And as for your question, Rock... no. No, that's not what I'm doing." This set Mega back.

"Huh? Then, what...?" Blues looked away.

"Suppose it'll have to come out now... well, everybody, to put it bluntly... I'm leaving again."

"_WHAT?!!_" A shocked silence followed the simultaneous expression of shock from all the other Lights. Blues... Proto Man... sighed.

"Don't get me wrong... it's not like I don't like it here. On the contrary, these past three years have been the best time of my life. But that's over now... the time for war is back, and we each have to deal with it in our own way. Me... I work best alone. When it comes to things like this, that's just the way I am, I'm afraid..."

"But Blues... what if something happens?" Roll asked him. "What if you get hurt badly, or... or worse..." Blues laughed.

"Oh, don't worry about that, little sis. I'm not THAT much of a loner; if I really need repairs, I'll come back here. But unless that happens, I'm afraid you won't be seeing much of me around here for a while."

"So... what? Are you going to do the same routine as the Third? Lurk around in the shadows and drop in to be a pest when I least expect you?" Mega asked his brother, half-joking.

"No, not this time..." Proto responded seriously. "I don't know if any of you agree with me, but... something's fishy here. The Rebellion... everything. There's just something wrong about all of it... I don't know what, or anything about it. But there's definately something rotten in the state of Denmark, to use an ancient seventeenth-century phrase. Take it from a guy who's an expert in the more shadowy side of these affairs."

"So you're going to sneak around and try to figure out what exactly this hidden piece of the puzzle is?" Dr. Light realized. Proto smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Correct-a-mundo, dad. I figure I'll start at Cossack's... no, don't worry, bro. I'm not going to try and get inside. Please, give me some credit."

"What? I didn't even say anything yet!" Mega protested. Proto gave him a look.

"Yeah, but you were thinking it. Anyways... even if I don't go inside, I might be able to find something out by examing the area around the place. You never know until you try, right?"

"True." Roll agreed.

"Okay. I'll be off, then... we're not getting any younger by chit-chatting around here, I believe the saying goes." He embraced his father, sister and brother in turn, then patted Rush and Eddie on their heads. And then, with one last whistle of his favorite, familiar tune, the eldest son of Light was gone. None of the others spoke for several moments following his departure. Eventually, though, Roll broke the silence.

"He had a point, you know... we're not accomplishing much just standing around here. You should go into stasis now, Rock; we need to fix up whatever damage you took so you can go after the next Robot Master."

"She's right, Rock." Dr. Light agreed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Stasis sounds pretty good, actually..." The three Lights smiled at each other, all of them feigning lightheartedness on purpose in order to try and avoid the depressing gloom they all knew was settling over them all. The house seemed emptier already with Blues' departure... and Roll and Dr. Light knew it would only get moreso every time Mega went out to risk his life.


	6. Chapter 5: Bones Away

**__**

Chapter 5: Bones Away

"All right, you idiots. Listen up, and listen good, or I'll disembowel you myself. Weapons come in many forms. This plasma cannon of mine is a physical one. I far prefer a more subtle weapon... terror. Fear. It lurks in the hearts of all men and robots, and when somebody like me gains control of it, it becomes a far more effective weapon than any physical attack." -Advanced Robot Master Doc Man, addressing his generals during the Third Robot Rebellion

"Ah, the start of a new day." Skull Man mused to himself as he sat on the roof of his new castle in Transylvania, watching the sunrise. "The calm, peaceful darkness of night fades away to be replaced by the hectic, noisy day. I despise it. So inefficient... such foolish creatures these humans are." He sighed and jumped off the roof onto a balcony. "All good things, must pass, I guess... at least that is what my experience tells me. Back to the mission, as the humans awaken..." The Robot Master walked into the castle, smiling despite himself at the decor. Floors, walls and ceiling were all carved to resemble white bone; the previous owner of the castle, centuries ago, had had excellent taste. Entering his control chamber, Skull Man sat down at the large computer and pressed a button.

"Yes, master?" A gaunt form approached him from behind almost instantly. "12-KIL #013 reporting."

"Let's see... what should I schedule to terrorize the humans down there today..." Skull Man thought about it. "Start things off by dumping some boiling tar over the sides of the castle... the west side, I think. Don't want to be downwind of it, and there shouldn't be any humans near that side. Keep that going for a couple hours... then you 12-KILs go out and mingle with the populace. Wear cloaks so they don't know what you are until the last moment. How's our stock of ancient human bones?"

"Still plenty left in the dungeon, master."

"Good. At noon, I want a full catapult load of them launched into that little town to the south. Have the Batontons and Iworms released out into the countryside again, with instructions to lurk in the trees and caves. Ambush unsuspecting humans... heh heh heh." He paused in further thought. "That should do it for all the daylight hours... when night falls again, then we can really get going. Until then, though, you know what to do." The underling robot saluted.

"Yes, master! It shall be done!" It disappeared back into the shadows, and Skull Man leaned back in his chair. He far preferred the approach he was taking to the humans around here over that of his brother Robot Masters. Instead of keeping them hostage, imprisoned in the castle, Skull Man and his robots simply made sure the people were kept in as much a state of constant fear as possible. Far more efficient that way; none of the muss and fuss that would have been involved with taking care of the humans inside the castle. Behind the metal skullmask that covered his face, Skull Man raised an eyebrow as he saw a communication coming in for him.

"Checking source... hm... it's probably Dr. Cossack. Yes, that's it alright... I wonder what he wants. Hopefully it's not a change in orders... my current ones are working fine. Oh well, if it is, it is." He accepted the link and saluted. "Greetings, doctor. May I inquire as to the meaning of this call?"

"Dust Man is dead, Skull Man." Dr. Cossack replied sharply. The Russian Doctor was looking a bit shaken; his glasses were askew and his lab coat rumpled. Obviously, he was not a happy man at this moment. Skull Man frowned imperceptibly.

"Hmph... well, forgive me for saying this, doctor, but this is not a complete surprise. Dust Man was not the strongest warrior among us by a long shot. Mega Man, on the other hand, is known to be very powerful-"

"It's more than that, Skull Man." Cossack interrupted his creation. "Mega Man didn't just defeat Dust Man. He FLATTENED him. Almost completely one-sided. The battle can't have lasted five minutes, and I doubt Mega Man was ever in any real danger at all."

"Oh, come on now, doctor." The bony robot scoffed. "I must affirm that you are exaggerating at least some; humans tend to do that in these cases. Dust Man was not pathetic, after all; he was a very well-designed robot master, like all of us. You built us very well."

"Skull Man!" Dr. Cossack slammed his fists down in frustration. "Please! If you would stop your self-adulation for a second and just LISTEN...!"

"Very well, doctor." Skull Man nodded. "Point taken. I'm all ears." Dr. Cossack took a few deep breaths to steady himself, then continued.

"Good. Now, then. I am fully aware of Dust Man's ability. That is WHY the ease with which Mega Man defeated him is so worrisome. It should have been much more of a fight than that judging by Mega Man's fighting ability as seen in the first three Rebellions... but that's not what happened."

"Wait. Wait." Skull Man's eyes slowly widened. "Doctor, do you mean there has been a significant increase in his power?"

"Exactly." Dr. Cossack nodded grimly. "Apparently, Dr. Light thinks along the same lines as myself. He has incorporated the same weapons-charging system into Mega Man's plasma arm cannon that I used for Pharoah Man. Blasts that powerful were too much for Dust Man to stand up to."

"That is a definate problem..." Skull Man admitted. "Do you have a reading on how powerful Mega Man's charged shots are compared to Pharoah Man's?"

"Judging by what I can tell, they seem to be at about equal strength." The Russian robotocist answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Equal strength... good. If that is correct, than my Skull Barrier should be able to block the charged shots effectively enough." Skull Man smiled slightly. "Even so... I shall have to be on my guard when he comes for me. Carelessness would be fatal. How soon do you think that will be?"

"I don't know... I have no idea how he will choose which of the seven remaining locations to attack next. For all I know, he's flipping coins to decide, or rolling dice, or something along those lines. However, if I were you, then I would hope that he not choose you to attack next... and consider yourself fortunate that he does not know of your weakness."

"Do not worry about that, doctor. When it comes time for us to fight, whether it be soon or later, I will be the one doing all the intimidation."

"I hope you are right, Skull Man. If he does choose you... make me proud, and do what needs to be done. Dr. Cossack out." The communication closed, and Skull Man sat there for a few moments in thought before rising from his seat and walked off into the dark corridors of the castle.

"Is that boiling tar ready yet?"

"Aaah, the start of a brand new day." Roll announced as she walked down the stairs. "Bright, sunny, absolutely chock-full of promise for the future. Well, if it wasn't raining. And if there wasn't a Robot Rebellion going on. And if my older brother hadn't run off to who-knows-where. And if the TV was working. And-"

"That's quite enough, Roll." Dr. Light reprimended her from over the half-gallon coffee cup he always broke out during a Rebellion or something equally disastrous. "Sarcasm should be used in moderation, remember." Roll's obviously fake extra-exuberant grin faded into a more wry smile.

"Yeah... that was taking it a bit far, wasn't it? Sorry, dad."

"It's all right." The doctor shrugged, looking out the window. "I must admit, I do have to agree with you about the weather; this is winter, and yet here we are with pouring rain instead of more snow. That's actually probably a good thing, since if we got any more snow I'd have to leave the house through the chimney, but it doesn't help the gloominess factor one bit."

"Exactly." Roll sighed. "For a moment there, it was just the last straw, you know? The Rebellion drops on us out of nowhere, when we thought everything about those was gone forever... Blues takes off like that again without so much as a forwarding address-if he turns up in a bar or something, I'm going to use that scarf of his as an oil rag-the television goes out last night, and then I wake up and find this. Carumba. Just all got to me for a second."

"Maybe you should try some of this." Dr. Light took another sip from the oversized coffee mug.

"No, I don't think so." Roll shook her head, still smiling. "You must need more of that stuff... I'm a robot, remember? Even as advanced as me and those two lunks are, we don't have anything even remotely resembling working taste buds, let alone a digestive system. All I'd do is short out my voice, most likely. Refrain from commenting unless you'd like to find an unpleasant surprise in your caffiene tomorrow."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Dr. Light laughed.

"Good." The robot girl frowned. "Is that much of the stuff really healthy for you, though? I know caffiene's not nearly as bad as some of the other substances humans use, like nicotine, but it can still be addictive. Half a gallon seems a little too much like tempting fate to me."

"That's why I only use this mug when I'm feeling particularly stressed." Dr. Light countered. "Roll, I'm fine. Would you prefer I drank alcohol instead? Although that really wouldn't do much for helping me wake up in the mornings... more like the opposite, actually."

"Okay, okay. Point made." Roll threw up her hands in surrender. "Just watch yourself, okay?"

"I've been watching my health for decades before you were created. And I'm relatively sure that I haven't forgotten how." Dr. Light glanced up the stairs. "Should we wake Rock out of stasis?"

"Naah, let him sleep a few minutes more." Roll shook her head again. "He's going to need it for the next place... he didn't admit it, but I think that fight with Dust Man took more out of him than anybody would have realized. Which one do you think he's going to be heading after next?"

"My guess would be Skull Man... the one in the Transylvanian castle." Dr. Light replied after a few moments of thought.

"Would you care to place a little wager on that, perhaps?" Roll challenged. The doctor's eyes narrowed.

"Maybe... which one is your choice?"

"Pharoah Man, in Egypt." Roll answered promptly.

"You're on!" Dr. Light cackled. "As for the stakes... if I win, you have to make me coffee every morning for a month!" Roll winced, then smiled.

"All right... but if I win, you have to... clean out and organize the lab!" This time it was Dr. Light who winced, but he gamely held his ground and stuck out his hand.

"Done! Shake on it, then." They did, and a moment later, footsteps were heard upstairs.

"Yawn... morning, dad. Sis." Rock greeted them as he walked down the stairs. "Where's-oh yeah, nevermind."

"Forgot Blues was gone for a second?" Roll asked. He grunted affirmatively. "He'll be back eventually. Unless he gets his head blown off by doing something stupid, but come on, how likely is that?"

"He insulted a Pinhead model while already badly wounded one time in the Third." Rock informed her. "Blues doing something stupid is probably a given sooner or later. What you should have said is 'by doing something stupid that he can't get out of.' That would have worked better." His sister rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Are you going to stand around here all day making smart comments, or are you going to get moving and take out another one of that creep Cossack's crazy creations?"

"Why, Roll! If I didn't know better, I'd say you wanted me to go out and get killed or something!" The robot boy laughed to show he was joking as he phased into his armor. "Nice wording there, by the way."

"I rather liked it." Roll sidestepped the crack. "So, which one of 'em are you going to go after this time?"

"Well, at first it was a bit of a toss-up..." Mega turned to face another room in the house, not seeing the excited look on his father and sister's faces as they waited for his answer. "I couldn't decide between Toad Man and Drill Man..." Both their faces fell. "But then I thought some more, and I decided on Skull Man." Dr. Light grinned and snickered, why Roll muttered a dutch curse. This turned his attention back to them. "Huh? What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing." Dr. Light put his coffee cup in the sink. "Is Rush all ready to go?" The robotic dog barked to answer the question as he leaped down the stairs four at a time. Mega nodded.

"I'd say so. Shame those Energen Crystals wore out... is there any way to reactivate the Rush Marine and Rush Jet, do you suppose?" In the Third Robot Rebellion, Rush had used powerful Energen Crystals to power transformations into a jetboard and a minisub. Without them, though, he could only use the large spring built into his back. Dr. Light sighed.

"If we had another of the black and green Energen crystals, sure... but even if we ordered them now, it's probably be a month before they arrived. There's a slim chance Cossack'll have 'em stashed around... probably not, but you should keep your eyes peeled just in case."

"I'll do that, then." Mega scratched the robotic dog's head. "Well, I'll be off, then. See you all when I come back with Skull Man's head. Maybe it's a good thing Blues is gone... if I know him he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to make a Hamlet joke. Well, until then!"

Unlike Japan's currently stormy skies, Transylvania was bright and sunny; blue skies, with puffy white clouds clustered around the high mountaintops seen in the distance. The effect was unfortunately offset rather badly by the gruesome design of the drawbridge, which Mega Man was quick to note as he arrived on the scene.

"Ugh... can't say I approve of this place's decor." He frowned. "Shame... otherwise this would be a great place to relax, especially with this weather." The drawbridge leading into the castle was designed to resemble a huge, unusually long rib cage of white bone, as was the portcullis above. Mega shook his head. "Focus, focus. The people around here probably aren't watching the sky right now, and neither should you until everything's taken care of." Moving ahead into the castle, he was confronted by a familair-looking squat green cannon. "Where have I seen these before... ah!" He ducked as it fired a rather colorful red cannonball that bounced around like a crazed rubber superball. A charged shot destroyed both it and the cannon. "Aha! Sennet's Houdai cannons... I remember these from Needle Man's stage! Seems like Cossack's upgraded their ammunition, though... I'll have to watch out for that." As he passed the wreckage, Mega saw "Super Ball Machine Jr." was stamped on what remained of the artillery's side. He raised an eyebrow.

"That's an odd change of name if I've ever seen one... perhaps Cossack's got a bit of a Top-Man-ish sense of humor." Several more cannons and a few spinning spiked enemies later, Mega finally entered the castle proper. The rough-hewn walls were constructed of an odd purplish stone. "Wonder if that color's natural... probably not. It's better than the bone, though, I'll give 'em that." He sighed as he saw a set of thighbones carved into the wall. "Figures. Who owned this castle, anyways? Dracula's brother-in-law, Baron Von Boney? Cripes." Climbing a ladder, he found himself face to face with a humanoid robot in a cloak. "All right, you. Take that off so I can see you. Is that you, Skull Man?"

"Negatory." A mechanical monotone responded as the robot cast off its cloak, revealing... nothing but a skeletal framework of a humanoid robot with one eye. Mega's eyes widened.

"What the hell? Wait a second..." He frowned; what little armor was on the frame was green. "Those fragments... and one eye... hold the phone! You look like one of Lighttech's 12-KIFs!" The 12-KIF, or "Sniper Joe" models, were one of Lighttech's most popular worker-class robots. The downside was that they were also efficient fighters when reprogrammed by Wily. Cossack had apparently had a similar idea, but had stripped the robots down. Silent now, the Skeleton Joe raised its arm and chucked a metal bone at the blue hero. Dodging it, Mega shot it once, and it collapsed into a pile. He shrugged. "Well, that was easy. What was Cossack thinking..." Shrugging, he walked around it to the ladder behind. And was promptly hit in the back. Growling, he spun to see the Skeleton Joe reassembled and attacking! "What the-?" He shot it again, and it collapsed again, but this time Mega waited to see what would happen. A moment later, the pieces rose and resumed attack. "That's why he skeletized them... so they could pull that trick! Would've been too hard to do with all that armor and stuff on 'em... but it must sacrifice defense!" A single charged shot incinerated the Skeleton Joe, and Mega climbed up to the next floor. It led out onto a covered balcony, where black spheres hung from the roof. Mega recognized them instantly.

"Battontons. Looks like Cossack's really keen on stealing our stuff... can't he stick to his own company's robots?" Battontons, also known as Bubble Bats, were flying robots. Despite their slightly intimidating appearance, their only real asset was the plasma-deflective shield they used while hanging. Once they came down and attacked, their slow speed made them sitting ducks. Mega took them out one by one as he walked around, actually humming a little tune as he went. On the other side of the balcony, the blue hero climbed to the next floor and found a rather nice surprise waiting for him.

"Beep!"

"Hey, Eddie! Glad to see you here!" He glanced over at a fossilized dinosaur carved into the purple rock wall, with jaw rivets. "What do you think of this place?" The little suitcase robot rolled his eyes.

"Beep beep..." Mega laughed.

"Yeah, I'm not too fond of it myself. Whaddaya got for me today?" Eddie flipped his top and ejected a shiny blue canister with an "E" on it. "WHOA! Where'd you find this?" E-Tanks were portable reacharges for a robot's internal operations energy. By opening the can and downing the contents, Mega would completely restore all his energy at any time. The only downside to the E-Tanks was their scarcity; they were very expensive to produce. Even with all the money he made from Lighttech, Dr. Light wasn't able to keep them lying around the house for Robot Rebellions. Shrugging, Mega pocketed it. "Well, I don't know where you got it, but thanks, Ed! This'll definately come in handy somewhere along the line!"   
"Beep!" Smiling, Eddie teleported away, and Mega continued his journey up to the next floor. The ladder led to a short, dead-end balcony, but continued upward. Mega jumped off.

"Let's see what's over here before I take the high road..." It turned out to be a group of the same Shield Attackers that Mega had fought in Los Angeles, patrolling around another valuable E-Tank. Getting to it cost Mega a quarter of his energy, but it was well worth it. Returning to the ladder, the blue hero climbed further up and continued around another winding balcony, fighting off odd skull-shaped snipers and boneworms that dropped down from holes in the ceiling. The biggest problem with the balcony was neither of these, actually; it was that several pieces of it had broken away, leaving gaping holes that Mega had to hurdle. It was a good fifty-foot drop at least if he fell in, and not even Robot Masters could survive that. Jumping off the end of the balcony, Mega landed back in the castle, Turning, he saw that there was a second balcony underneath the first one that he could get to. At the end, another E-Tank beckoned; however, this balcony had even more and wider gaps than the one above. Mega shook his head.

"Not EVEN if there were three of them. That's gotta be a trap... it's not worth the risk. Man, I wish Rush still had his Jet function... then I'd be able to get that easily. Ah well, no use complaining... better press on." Unfortunately, Mega was so distracted by his muttering that he didn't notice the boneworm dropping until it was already on his head. "YARGH! Gerroff!" Flailing around, Mega blasted it to smithereens, singing his own face in the process. "Frackit." Muttering more loudly now, the blue hero descended the ladder ahead of him, hoping above all else that he was almost to the end of this castle... for some reason, he REALLY wanted to hurt the skeletal Robot Master who was the master of the place...

Cold... dark and damp and cold. Everything around the girl was cold and empty, devoid of light, of life. There was nothing alive... except the girl herself. Everything else was dead and dark.

There was no way of telling how long the girl had been here, in the prison cell. She knew where she was, that was something, at least. The girl kept telling herself that as the days dragged on. If nothing else, she at least knew where she was being kept, in this prison cell deep beneath the fortress. Many prisoners didn't even have that luxury.. at least, from what she knew of other prisoners. But people kept in bleak prison cells like this one were supposed to be fully grown, strong men and women, not small, pitiful girls with no hopes of escape... at least that was the way all the stories went. It was to her own sorrow that the girl realized this was no story... this was agonizingly real.

The girl looked down at her wrist and realized with some surprise that it was perfectly smooth and unbroken, with only a faint pale line of scar tissue remaining. The wound that had been there previously had been her only method of assuring herself that time was actually passing, that she wasn't stranded in an unending limbo. It had been caused when she was first taken, when the brutal robots had ripped her wristwatch off so roughly that it had gashed open her skin. The orange one had bandaged it later, rather clumsily with his lack of hands; as he had explained to her, if the wound had been left open, it might have been infected, and she was no good to them dead. In agony, however... well. That was another story altogether, it seemed. Slowly, the wound had healed; when she had been able to remove the bandage without more blood coming forth, the girl gauged that two weeks had passed from her limited knowledge of healing factors. Now that it was completely healed, she guessed it had been at least a month since she was brought here.

"Maybe I should be thankful that they didn't take my clothes too..." The girl sighed, watching her breath create a small cloud of fog. If they had done that, she wouldn't have been able to survive this long; even with her fur-lined red coat, the cell was still bitingly cold. She had long ago given up on trying to keep track of the time by the variance in temperature signifying day and night; it was too slight for any sane person to be able to distinguish. All she could do now was wait... wait and sleep, for that was the only thing she could do that would break the monotony, aside from when the robots came to visit...

Clank. The girl froze as she heard the noise of something metallic hitting stone, followed by low, muttered cursing; the voice was so quiet that the girl wasn't able to identify which one of the robots it was. Every so often, the robots would bring her food and water, enough for her to survive. It was always the same; two plain wooden bowls and a plate. One of the bowls had a thick, tasteless gruel while the other had water. The plate carried an unidentifiable meat that she had never tasted before this nightmare... moose, perhaps, or yak? The girl didn't know. Of more importance to her was which robot it was that would be bringing her her sustenance this time. She prayed that it would be the funny one, with the yellow paint job; that one at least had a less mechanical personality than the rest, and he loved showing off; she could usually persuade him to stay for a short time after delivering the food. Anything to break the monotony, after all, and so the girl pretended to be wildly entertained and laughed as if the yellow robot was a comedy genius. If she had been at home and watching him on a television, the girl admitted, she might even have actually enjoyed watching him. Or perhaps it would be the orange one with no hands that had bandaged her wound from the watch; he seemed to have at least a shred of empathy, and talked to her as if she were an equal, unlike the others.

"Slop time, human." The robot snickered as he rounded the corner, and the girl's heart sank. It was the red one, the most brutal of her tormentors. Aside from the yellow and orange ones, most of the robots ignored her, simply delivering the food and leaving. The bulky blue one and the red one here, however... they were nasty and cruel, often seeking out extra ways to torture her before delivering the food. She couldn't even turn away and ignore them; if she did, they would simply depart without giving her the much-needed sustenance. And so, each time she had to endure their insults and cruelties, trying above all else not to cry, not to give them what they wanted so much. "Are you hungry, human? Thirsty, perhaps?"

"Yes, I am." The girl agreed calmly. "Very much so, as usual. If you would, please..."

"Getting a little ahead of ourselves now, aren't we?" The red robot dropped the tray on the floor outside of her cell. "You sound awfully calm and controlled for somebody who's so hungry and thirsty. Why, if I didn't know better, I might think that you weren't being sincere about it, that you were faking it. I don't know that much about you humans, after all... could you, perhaps, be playing a gag on us?" His eyes narrowed. "Food and water are very scarce around here, after all..."

"That's not true!" The girl protested without thinking. "Food, perhaps, but water's as easy as going outside and bringing in some snow!" As soon as her mouth had closed, the girl realized she had made a mistake. The red robot glared at her.

"You should think more about what you say, princess. Maybe to you, a human with a warm fur coat and mittens and boots and hat, yes, going outside and collecting snow would be easy. But we robots are not so fortunate as to have all those nice warm things. Still... perhaps you are right. Maybe water is easy to get around here." Shrugging nonchalantly, he kicked the water bowl over. "Oops. There goes your water. Oh well, since water's so easy to get around here, you won't have any problems finding more. The next meal will be along in exactly twelve hours, by the way... we robots are very punctual about things like this." He opened the door of the cell and pushed the tray through with his foot, then stopped and smirked at her. "I'll tell you what. Why don't you try and get your water bowl anyways? If you can, I'll go out and refill it for you. All you have to do is get past me... that can't be too hard, can it? Heh heh heh..." The girl forced herself to remain calm, not to yell at the bully-bot.

"You realize that if you hurt me in any way yourself, the doctor will melt you down and use you to make Metools."

"You've got a point. Oh well." The red robot closed the door again. "Enjoy your meat and gruel... and try not to think about what's in it." He began to walk away. The girl sighed and turned away, shivering. The lack of water was nothing next to the cold.

"Jerk... robots don't need heat anyways. How would he know about it... if I could just get a little heat..."

"What's that? Heat?" The red robot turned around, face wide-eyed and innocent. "Is there something wrong with the temperature?" The girl bit her lip, then sighed. The blunder had already been made; there was no helping it.

"Yes... this cell isn't heated. It's very cold..."

"Oh, you're not going to need heat." He smirked again. "You humans are a wonderful source of the stuff." With that, he walked away, laughing. The girl shivered, then turned back to her food. Eating it with her hands (there were no utensils), she sighed and flopped onto her hard bunk, deciding that she might as well get some sleep. There was nothing else to do... although she knew her dreams wouldn't be good ones.

"I will admit that this is a beautiful sunset..." Mega conceded, standing in front of the bridge to the tower where Skull Man was undoubtably waiting. Rush barked in agreement as Mega jumped off the spring in his back to clear a very wide gap (fortunately, this bridge was not roofed, so the blue hero didn't hit his head as he would have on the balconies). As a last-ditch effort, a gang of Skeleton Joe guards blockaded the bridge. Dispatching them, Mega picked up the cluster of small energy pods they left behind, then walked through the metal shutter on the other side of the bridge.

"I've been waiting for you, Mega Man." The robot master at the other end of the room greeted him calmly. A black cloak covered his body, but above it was a skull-mask covering a humanlike face. This was definately Skull Man. "I do wish you had taken a little bit longer to get here, though... just half an hour more, and it would have been nighttime. Much more appropriate for our battle, in my humble opinion."

"You're the kind of robot who likes to lurk in the darkness, then?" Mega asked calmly. Skull Man closed his eyes and laughed.

"That's correct, my ocean-hued friend. Darkness adds an advantage for me, especially when facing an opponent who's human... or close to it, at least."

"I assume by that, you meant me." Mega raised an eyebrow.

"Correct once again. There are some disadvantages to being too advanced, you know... one of those is your range of emotions. Admit it, Mega Man... you know what fear is. It walks beside you, wherever you go... no matter how brave you are, there's always some lingering terror... that you'll fail, and die, and end up looking... like me." The white robot cast off his cloak. Underneath it, his body was covered with an accurate representation of the human skeleton; ribs across the chest, a seperation in the lower arm... he probably even had toebones plated on his boots. Mega's eye, however, realized the bones were made of durable alloys. They'd be tough to break.

"All show." He yawned dramatically. "Look, bub. I've already been victim to worse mind games by more sadistic twits than you could ever imagine. So, basically, that's not going to work on me. Why don't we just get down to the fighting... that is, if you know how to fight besides with your voice?" Skull Man smirked, not in the least offended by the hero's taunt.

"Very well. The moment I am shut down, all operations in the castle will also cease, so don't worry about that. To battle, then!" Snarling, he leaped into the air towards Mega, who easily slid away and fired a charged shot. Skull Man snorted and began firing... plasma shots of his own!

"What the-?" Mega yelped as he dodged.

"Heh... I've got a plasma buster too! No charging, I'll admit... but then again, that's not my primary weapon!"

"So, show me what it is!" Mega fired off another charged shot. As it raced towards his opponent, Skull Man grinned.

"My pleasure!" Suddenly, he was covered in a swirling forcefield! The plasma shot dissipated harmlessly against it. "Take a look at this! Nothing you can do will penetrate my Skull Barrier!" Mega stepped back for a moment before regaining control.

"No biggie. Why aren't you moving?" Skull Man frowned.

"That's my business."

"I'll tell you why. It's because you can't and still keep it up." Mega leaned against a wall. "So, I'll just wait for you to drop that and resume the fight...OOF!" Without warning, Skull Man had suddenly charged forward, losing the barrier but catching Mega Man in a forward tackle! The hero went flying across the room, and grunted again as Skull Man jumped onto him.

"Underestimating your opponent! A fatal weakness!" Skull Man prepared to activate the shield again and shred his defenseless adversary... but Mega had other plans. A clod of scrap flew upward. "What the-ARGH!" Landing on Skull Man's head, it fragmented violently, the pieces lodging themselves between the bones and knocking him off. Mega rose, armor a dull grey and white.

"Agreed. No more playing, then... let's finish this." Skull Man snarled and fired his arm cannon, but another Dust Crusher knocked him on his rear. Trying to rise, the skeletal robot discovered that he could not; the gunk had gummed him up too much.

"Dammit!" Desperate, he brought up the Skull Barrier. Mega shook his head at this last tactic.

"Enough, Skull Man. You've lost; you can't even move now. All you're doing is prolonging this... and you know it. Now who's afraid?" Skull Man's eyes narrowed... and the barrier dropped.

"Not me... I know not fear. I am not sophisticated enough, unlike you. Finish it now... do it cleanly with your buster. The Dust Crusher will be too slow a death..." Mega nodded once, then fired a charged shot point-blank into his defeated enemy's face. Immediately, all the lights shut off. The blue hero laid a hand on Skull Man's head, and his armor shifted color, becoming a much lighter frost-blue all over.

"Everything's shut down... this place is done for. There's nothing more for me here." Without another word, he warped out, leaving Skull Man's corpse alone in the darkness once more.


	7. Chapter 6: The High Dive

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Chapter 6: The High Dive

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"Fefnir, if you call me 'just a girl' again, I'm going to rip out your core processor and make you eat it. I'd like to see YOU fight well in the water. Or you, Harpuia. War under the waves is a whole new world, and you both know it. Phantom might have managed, but he's dead now. That just leaves Zero... and I look forward to his arrival." -Neo Arcadia General Leviathan, during the Dark Elf Incident

Dr. Thomas Light's house and laboratory were located on the very outskirts of Tokyo, Japan. The good doctor and his family all preferred it that way; big city life was not a very attractive proposition to any of them. They preferred the peace, quiet and tranquility of living out in the forest. Around noon on the fifth day of the Fourth Robot Rebellion, however, that valued peace, quiet and tranquility was shattered by the noise coming from a single car that made its way along the road to the house.

"Excuse me? Now, I KNOW I didn't hear that correctly. Surely, you couldn't be THAT insane, old buddy." Dr. Trent Corbun laughed at the driver of the car. "Yes, I know you have to show some respect to your home culture, but come on. Chinese food trumps Japanese food on so many levels, it even overrides that!"

"Are you TRYING to make me hurt you, doctor?" Darwin Vinkus' hands were clenched tight on the steering wheel. "Because if you are, then I have to congratulate you upon how close you are coming to succeeding. Even if this wasn't my country, I'd still stick with japanese food over chinese food any day... and I'd put BOTH of them over the stuff they serve where YOU come from!"

"Hey, don't knock the tea and scones!" Corbun protested in mock outrage. "You cheeky blighter! Why, I'd challenge you to a duel of cuisines if I had any ability to cook. Unfortunately, I don't even know how to boil water without burning it, so we'll just have to agree to disagree." Vinkus snorted. "What was that? I suppose YOU know how to cook something edible?"

"Well... no, not really." The UN representative admitted. Corbun nodded triumphantly.

"As I thought. So we'll forego the whole thing than, shall we? At least I hope so, for poor X's sake; he'd probably have to be the judge if we went ahead with it, and I wouldn't wish that on anybody. You REALLY don't want to know what burning water smells like, trust me." The third occupant of the car laughed.

"No, I don't suppose I do, doctor." Mr. X looked out the window of the car. "I believe we are almost there."

"How can you tell?" Vinkus asked, curious. Mr. X pointed out the window to a gaping, blackened hole in the foliage, unknowingly cause by Blues when he had tested the Mega Buster for the first time.

"That is how. Somehow, I do not believe it is a natural occurance."

"You won't get any argument from me there. Ah, here we are." Dr. Corbun agreed as Vinkus parked the car in front of the Lights' house, and all three men piled out. After a curse-filled moment spent extricating Vinkus' coat from the door (much to Corbun's amusement), they rang the doorbell and were admitted by Roll.

"Hey, guys! Great to see you again. Come in, come in." The female robot brought them inside, where Dr. Light greeted them and bade them sit on a couch, which they did gladly.

"Good to see you again, fellas. We were wondering when you were going to stop by and pay us a visit."

"I've been busy with the UN, what with this entire mess." Vinkus shook his head disgustedly. "Damn Cossack anyway for dropping this Rebellion on us. I suppose it just goes to show you, never drop your guard and think it's all over with Robot Masters." Roll coughed, and Vinkus flushed.

"Present company excepted, of course." Dr. Corbun remarked lightly. "I'm sure Darwin meant to add that, Roll. You can say a lot about him-and I usually do-but total bigot isn't one of them. Yet. Where are the rest of the family, anyways? Surely they're not still in stasis?"

"Rock is, but he'll be waking up soon." Dr. Light explained. "He got back very late last night from battling Skull Man. Rush is examining your cane with a great degree of interest, X..." The billionaire frowned and pulled the walking implement away before it became a chew toy. "And Eddie is outside watering the garden."

"What about Blues?" Mr. X asked. He blinked as Dr. Light and Roll's faces both fell.

"Blues... isn't here any more." Roll sighed. "He took off again... said he was going to sneak around and see if he could figure out any secrets about the Rebellion and Cossack that might come in handy. If you hear anything about a guy calling himself 'Proto Man', that's him." The three visitors looked at each other uncomfortably.

"I... see." There was silence for several moments after that, until Vinkus cleared his throat and spoke again.

"So... Mega Man has defeated Skull Man? I already knew he had rescued the hostages at the WGPP... that's two out of eight, not counting Cossack himself. A good start... but far from finishing the job."

"ROCK defeated Skull Man." Roll corrected Vinkus sharply. A moment later, however, another voice contradicted her from the top of the staircase.

"No, Roll. Counciller Vinkus was correct. It is Mega Man who is killing the Robot Masters and stopping the Robot Rebellion, not Rock." He walked down the stairs in full battle armor. Dr. Corbun smiled.

"Very well, then... as you wish, Mega Man. It's good to see you again after all these years... but something tells me you're not going to be sticking around here for long... am I correct?"

"You got it, doc. I'm off to the coast of Norway... time to deal with Dive Man. If any big ships go past there, that situation could suddenly get a lot worse. So I'll take care of the problem before it happens." The blue-armored robot explained.

"That is a very sound theory." Mr. X approved. "We will all be wishing you luck, my friend. When will you be back?"

"Probably not for another day or so, I'm afraid. So I'll see you all another time soon, hopefully. Until then..." Mega warped out. Dr. Corbun watched the blue beam of light fly up through the ceiling and shook his head.

"He's focusing on getting the job done... putting whatever feelings he really has about this Rebellion aside until it's over. An efficient way of dealing with it... as long as it doesn't get out of hand."

"I doubt that it will." Dr. Light smiled. "I have complete faith in Rock... in Mega Man. I don't doubt even for a moment that he knows what he's doing, and that he's doing the right thing." Vinkus glanced at the ceiling again.

"Let's all hope that you're right, Tom."

"D-four." Dive Man announced in his deep bass voice. The computer he was sitting in front of responded immediately.

"Miss. F-nine." Dive Man frowned darkly.

"Patrol boat, hit." In front of him on the screen were the twin grids of an ancient game from the twentieth century known as Battleship. "I have your number now... I attack D-seven."

"Battleship hit." The computer said cheerfully without a trace of anger in its voice. They were at the very end of the game; each had only one ship left, with one hit on it, and both knew the area in which it was in. Dive Man closed his eyes as he waited for the computer's choice. "...F-eight."

"Miss!" The Robot Master smiled triumphantly. "I win, as I now attack point D-eight!"

"Battleship hit... battleship sunk." The computer played a sound file of a mournful trumpet, and Dive Man leaned back in his chair.

"A simple, uncomplicated game... for a simple, uncomplicated mind, I suppose." Dive Man knew that he wasn't the smartest of Doctor Cossack's Robot Masters, nor the most powerful. Those honors belonged to Pharoah Man or Ring Man, most likely. This knowledge did not affect Dive Man in the slightest. After all, neither advanced robotic brains nor deadly land fighting abilities could trump his superiority when under water. On land, yes, he was as slow and useless as a block of lead, and not too much brighter when you took away his automatic processes. But when you put Dive Man under the waves, he could take on anything and everything you threw at him and come out the winner. Confidence in that knowledge kept Dive Man happy.

"I won again... to be expected, I suppose. I do not recall ever losing a single game of Battleship to that computer... although that one almost fixed that. Still... playing against an opponent more mechanical than myself gets dull after a while. Perhaps I should see if one of the human hostages wishes to play... they would undoubtably be grateful for something else to do aside from sit around that room. But no, they would be scared of me... too afraid of the evil and violent Robot Master to play a good game. I'd be wasting my time. But no, there are a lot of them in there... there has to be at least one of them who will be brave enough to play the game well enough. But no, I can't let a hostage out... if Dr. Cossack found out about it, he would be enraged beyond my ability to comprehend it. He would make me into an anchor, most likely... so much for that idea." The hulking blue Robot Master sighed and turned to his computer again. "Might as well check again... computer, run a scan for any large vessels in the area."

"Acknowledged." The computer began humming as it processed the request. A moment later, it gave him the results.

"No large vessels found within a ten-mile radius of this location." Dive Man shrugged.

"It was worth a shot... a chance to catch more hostages would please Doctor Cossack greatly." The computer screen blinked.

"Incoming call."

"Speak of the doctor..." Dive Man raised a nonexistent eyebrow and accepted the call. The familiar orange-bearded face of his creator appeared in a window almost immediately.

"Ah, Dive Man. How are you doing, and what is the situation at your locale right now?"

"Things remain largely unchanged here, Doctor." Dive Man rumbled. "The hostages are being quiet, and the robots remain on the same patrol schedule. I have been hoping for a large ship to come by so we could sink it and increase our hostage count here, but no luck in that regard so far."

"Shame... oh well." Dr. Cossack sighed. "It doesn't really matter that much. As long as some hostages are kept, Mega Man will come. Which brings me to why I have called you, Dive Man. Just a few minutes ago, I detected Mega Man's warp signature. He is coming for you, and will arrive shortly."

"Is that so... well, in that case... you will not have much to worry about for long, Doctor. Mega Man's doom is nigh... he will not be walking-or even swimming-away from this." Dive Man muttered with uncharacteristic humor.

"A bit overconfident, are we?" Dr. Cossack remarked tiredly. "Do Mega Man's previous victories over your two brothers and three seperate Robot Rebellions mean nothing to you, then?"

"I do not deny that Mega Man is a powerful warrior, Doctor. You did not build me THAT stupid." Dive Man's voice would have held a faint injured tone had he been capable of it. "However, he is built for land combat, while I am designed to do battle under water, where we will be fighting. It is simply a mismatch... just as I would be an easy kill for him if I was on dry land, Mega Man will be unable to triumph against me when fighting in the ocean."

"Well, I am glad that you see things that way... in that case, you shouldn't have anything to worry about, should you?" Dr. Cossack remarked with some slight heat. "I shall leave you to wait for that, then. Goodbye, Dive Man." The doctor shut off the communication with an almost audible click and turned to another monitor in his control center, sighing in disgust. "With that kind of an attitude... he's already lost, and I'm down to five. Mega Man is doing better than I originally gave him credit for... moving too fast, succeeding too much. At this rate, he may very well succeed... he may very well win, and I may fail." He shuddered involuntarily at that thought. "No. That cannot happen... I can NOT fail. I can not afford to fail... eh?" He suddenly broke out of his thoughts as he saw something on the monitor, which displayed security camera footage around the outside of his Citadel. For a moment, he thought he had seen a humanoid figure dart behind a tree... a figure wearing armor much like Mega Man's. "Computer, send a Dokuron out there, NOW!"

"Acknowledged." The computer agreed, and Cossack turned to another monitor as it lit up, this one showing the vision of the robot being sent out to investigate. It approached the tree and looked around... and there was nothing there. Nothing at all. It investigated for several minutes until Cossack grunted and called it back in.

"Argh... I'm seeing things. I've been going without sleep altogether too much... although I don't think anybody would blame me, I should get some despite everything that prevents me from doing so... if I'm going to do this Rebellion right, I'll have to be well rested." Dr. Sergei Cossack stood up, stretched, and left his control chamber then. Had he remained just a short time after, however, he would have seen something else very interesting in the security camera footage... the sunlight reflecting sharply off of a pair of sunglasses.

"This looks like an old chemical weapons transport ship..." Mega muttered as he looked around. He had appeared on one of the only unsubmerged portions of a huge, rusted cruiser. It looked to be between thirty to forty years old, which put it at prime time for the Third World War. That would explain the large glass tubes that still held suspicious-looking orange chemicals, at least. "I really don't think I want to crack those open for a closer look... I just hope those dumb robots haven't broken any already." He looked over the underwater expanse of the ship and groaned audibly. "Damn, I wish Rush still had his Marine mode. Oh well, time to get wet... huh?" He blinked. Sections of metal catwalk still remained above the waves; most of it was gone, but he could jump across what was left. "Or not. This seems easier..." Smiling, the blue hero jumped forward. Something stirred in the water below. "What the-?" Those words were all he got out before a green mechanical fish launched itself out, jaws gaping hugely, and latched onto his head. Sputtering, Mega blew it away even as he fell down into the water. Something else glinted on the ship's floor, and with another oath, he rolled away from the buzzsaw blade that raced along it. The robot didn't seem to be much else but that; just a squat control machanism. Mega frowned and fired a shot, completely unsurprised when it bounced off harmlessly.

"If that's not a Gabyool, I'll eat my helmet." One of Lighttech's most popular models, Gabyools were designed to be mobile security cameras. Their tiny size and near-impenetrable armor made them well-suited for the task. Unfortunately, spikes or electric pulses (or, in this case, buzzsaws) could easily be attached to make them a very effective threat. "Something else Cossack's taken from Wily..." Usually, only one of his special weapons would be able to penetrate a Gabyool's hide. Both the Dust Crusher and Skull Man's force field, however, proved ineffective. Shrugging, Mega hurdled the Gabyool and continued on, spotting charging fish-bots from a distance and blowing them away before they could reach him. After crossing a bed of spikes, he came across a sight that was both familiar and bizzare. A Metool's hard hat resting on the ground, undoubtably concealing the robot underneath... and a snorkel's j-tube for breathing poking out from it. Mega cautiously approached, and the robot raised its helmet revealing that it also boasted a pair of flippers on its feet. It immediately launched itself upwards into the water, firing plasma. Mega groaned and killed it.

"Aqua Mets. Pssh. As Blues said about those flying Mets in the Third... stupid design. Just exposes the vulnerable undersides even more." More Swimming Metools and some heavily-armored jellyfish stood in his way next, with spiked floors waiting for him to slip up. Mega blasted the Mets and hurdled the rest. As he stopped in front of a lone spikepit, the blue hero suddenly heard the sound of an incoming teleport. "Huh?" Looking up, he saw a streak of purple light descend from the sky and form into a huge war whalebot. Without waiting for him to respond to this surprise, the whale opened its gaping mouth into a nasty smile and spat out a large missile, which snaked out and smashed right into Mega, exploding away a good 15% of his energy.

"Why, you big... say AAAH!" The blue hero responded by feeding his attacker a charged blast. It coughed up a puff of smoke, followed by another missile. Mega jumped it and gave the whale a second helping. "If that's all you can do, buddy, then they're gonna be serving up whale cakes for breakfast pretty soon!" Apparently, the whale realized this also, and changed tactics. From the blowhole on its top, a large object blasted into the air and split into four mines that sank back down towards Mega. At the same time, the whale's mouth used a powerful suction to try and pull its enemy in. "No, thank YOU! I don't particularly feel like a Pinnochio experience right now, but thanks for the offer!" Fighting the suction, Mega maneuvered between the mines while firing more charged shots down the whale's throat. With one last groan, the massive warbot sank down onto the spiked pit, exploding all over its body, and did not rise again. Mega walked across the hulk of slag, using it as a makeshift bridge, and continued on.

"Ah, good... a chance to dry off." Mega smiled a few jellyfish later as he saw a tower on the ship rise up out of the ocean. Clambering up a ladder, Mega was greeted by Eddie. "Heh... I was wondering when you were going to show up. I'm happy to see you, Ed. What have you-" He fell silent as Eddie stumbled, and with a despairing wail, fell into the water below.

"Beeeeeeeeeeeep!" Groaning, Mega slapped his forehead, then dropped back down after him and fished the little suitcase robot out of the drink by his leg. Once they were up on dry land again, Eddie let out another embarrassed beep and opened to reveal, among a great deal of water and some seaweed, a large energy capsule that replaced the energy Mega had lost to the fish and whale. "Thanks, Ed... but I think you'd better get that armor upgrade-and some waterproofing-from dad before you come help me again." Eddie nodded and teleported away. Climbing onto the top of the tower, Mega observed that the liquid in the glass tanks was now purple. More importantly, a road paver was stomping towards him. Fortunately, the big lug was a good distance away, and Mega was able to whittle down its armor before it could get to him. Behind it, the tower ended in a sheer drop down into the water again. Mega winced, then shrugged.

"Oh well... no helping it, I guess. BANZAI!" Launching himself off, he curled into a cannonball as he plummeted. Ten seconds or so of flight later, he impacted the water with a tremendous splash that sprayed water over a mile-wide radius. "Who says you can't have a moment or two of fun while on a mission?" Progressing forward, he discovered more plasma-deflective jellyfish. They weren't alone, however; the hero narrowed his eyes as a stingray glided towards him and adjusted its swim path for a direct collision. He fired... and missed, overshooting its flattened form. Before he could shoot again, the stingray hit. Mega glared as it swam away, not turning for another strike. "Must operate on a set pattern for the most part... they only change their path to try and run into an enemy as they continue. Pretty stupid... I must admit I'm not going to expect much from Dive Man's intelligence. Ah well, they can't all be geniuses... Heracles wasn't too bright either, and neither were Sennet's Smashbody models." Suddenly, Mega noticed something else. The water level... was strange.

"What's going on here... huh?" He realized what was going on a few moments later; the water was rising and falling! Looking around, he realized that the ship was forming a barrier around the body of water he was in, making it an enclosed pool. "Dive Man must have some sort of mechanism that controls the water level in here... tricky, tricky. Maybe I'm underestimating Dive Man's brains... naaaaaaaaaah. It was probably Cossack's idea." He shrugged. "Well, it doesn't really matter who came up with it, I'll have to be careful. If I mess up on a jump over a spike pit... ugh. Best not to think about that. The good thing about this is Dive Man's HQ is probably somewhere in this enclosed water... so I should reach him sometime soon." He glanced down at the chemical container under his feet; the contents were back to being orange-colored. "None of these are damaged so far... good. I just hope the hostages are in as good a condition as these are. Back to work..." Sliding under a trio of jellyfish who dived at him with grasping claws, Mega set out across the sunken ship once more.

"So, your little suitcase robot is going out to help Mega Man fight the Rebellions too now, eh?" Vinkus inquired over a cup of green tea. Dr. Light nodded, taking a sip of his own.

"Well, yes... and no, in a way. Eddie is not actually doing any fighting, but yes, he is helping out. Support duty is an important role too."

"Most definately... he is doing more than we are, at least." Mr. X sighed. "We're just four old men chattering around our tea... well, all right, two old men and two middle-aged men."

"What would you suggest we do, then?" Corbun smiled. "Have Tom build us all power suits, and we go out and wrestle the Robot Masters? I think not. Actually, that could be the plot of one of those rubbish new saturday morning cartoons. 'Super Fighting Elder Squad.' Judging by current tastes, it'd be a smashing hit."

"Trent, that statement of yours has made me seriously question the content of this tea." Vinkus shuddered. Roll raised an eyebrow, pretending that she was mortally offended by that.

"There's nothing wrong with my tea, counciller! All that's in there is water, tea leaves, sugar and crude!" She snickered as Vinkus's face blanched momentarily before he realized she was joking.

"Very funny. Your wit is almost as sharp as Trent's... and he often has to take care not to slice his own hand open on his."

"That sounded vaguely insulting." Corbun responded, unoffended. "I say vaguely because I'm not sure if I understand all of it. I suppose that means my wit's blade is getting dull. Hopefully, good counciller, you will allow me some time to sharpen it before our next duel of bladed commentary."

"Do you understand what the heck they're talking about?" Dr. Light asked Mr. X casually. The billionaire shook his head.

"Not in the least."

"I was afraid of that." Dr. Light sighed. "Oh well... let's change the subject than, shall we?" Mr. X smiled.

"An excellent idea. Counciller Vinkus, how do things go on the United Nations council concerning the Fourth Robot Rebellion right now?" Vinkus made an indelicate noise.

"Oh, things have improved some... the Transylvanian delegate and his backers have calmed down, by some coincidence. The others, though, are still as crazy they were at the beginning of the Rebellion... unable to see a thing beyond each of their own borders and their own places that have been attacked. Martel from America's doing his best to keep things controlled, but even his patience is starting to fray from all the stupidity. It's almost even getting to the point where I'm leaning towards hating politicians as a general rule, and I'm one of them myself!"

"That IS bad." Dr. Corbun agreed. "For once, I sympathize with you, Darwin. I doubt I would be able to sit through that for a day, let alone as long as you are. I don't know how you can do it... don't you ever get the urge to just take a garden hose to the whole bunch?"

"More than once." Vinkus admitted. "But there are some advantages to a career in politics, after all... one of them is being able to conceal your real emotions very well. I've given up on trying to make sense of it all... I just stay quiet, make my face look bored, listen to them all scream at each other, and count the minutes until I can get out of there... not much else to do."

"Well, hopefully, things will be getting at least slightly better soon." Roll observed. "Once Mega blows up Dive Man, the ones that are yapping about Norway should shut up. Discounting New York, that'll leave four countries left... unless the guy from Russia's at it too?" Vinkus shook his head.

"No... thank god for small favors. Counciller Mikhail's staying pretty quiet... I think he wants to avoid drawing any attention to himself and how his country is the real focal point of this Rebellion. I can't really say that I blame him for it... I'd probably be doing something along those lines too, if I were in his place. I did, when Wily was behind this... I wish I could say it was more of a relief to have Cossack, from somewhere else, be doing it this time. But I'd be telling a bigger lie than I've ever done for something political if I said that."

"Speaking of Dr. Cossack... has he contacted you again to say anything more, make any more demands?" Dr. Light asked. The politician shook his head.

"Nothing. I'm pretty sure you and the rest of the world would already know if he had anything more to say... subtlety and secrecy do not appear to be Cossack's style at all, judging from his first broadcast."

"Well, Wily did things the same way whenever he wanted to open his big mouth about something." Corbun observed.

"Yeah, but HE never managed to hack something so that every television showing it would automatically set its volume loud." Vinkus muttered sourly, draining the last of his cup. "We still don't know how the hell Cossack was able to do that. Nobody's been able to figure it out." Roll shrugged.

"Probably some wierd, complicated zippadeedoodah that most scientests would never even think of. Blues once said something about working outside the box that I think fits this situation... I wasn't really sure about the entire meaning of it, like a lot of the philosophical stuff of his."

"The old adage about the box... yes, that is probably it." Mr. X mused. "Anyways, I would put money on the bet that Cossack will call again eventually, if for no other reason than to boast some more."

"Probably." Dr. Light looked worried. "I just hope that gloating will be all that he'll be doing... that he doesn't try and trick or force Mega into facing the strongest ones before he's ready."

"What if Dust Man and Skull Man were the strongest? There wouldn't be anything to worry about then..." Mr. X suggested hopefully. Corbun shook his head.

"I don't think so, bud. From my experience at Sennet, I'd peg Drill Man and Bright Man as the top models. What about you, Darwin?" Vinkus thought for a moment.

"Well, I make no claims at being a robotocist... but I'd keep my eye on Pharaoh Man and Ring Man if I were out there. Tom?"

"I don't think I like the idea of betting on something that could take my son's life." Dr. Light responded somewhat coldly, before smiling. "But if you must, put me down for Dive Man and Toad Man." Corbun grinned wickedly.

"All right, then! Shall we say that everybody who didn't choose one of the two toughest has to buy the others a round of drinks when this is over?" Roll crossed her arms, looking angry.

"Permit a robot's point of view... but I dislike the idea of betting on something this important even more than Dr. Light. Rock could DIE out there, and that makes the skill of the Robot Masters much more important than a silly bet."

"Um... excuse me, but didn't you make a similar bet with me just before Skull Man?" Dr. Light asked lightly.

"Do not worry, Roll." Mr. X smiled. "Mega Man has proven himself three times over. We all know that he will not fail now... he has as good as won it already. He always does, right, Darwin?"

"I'm staying out of this." The UN counciller muttered. Roll sniffed.

"Well, I just wish I had your confidence... and I hope for Mega's sake that you are correct with it."

"Got you figured out now, blubber boy!" Mega grinned. Another one of the war whales, which Mega had named "Mobys" had attacked. He had discovered, however, that by standing close to the whale, the heat-seeking missiles would go over his head before they could adjust to hit him. A Dust Crusher into the mouth gummed up the suction device beyond salvaging as well, effectively eliminating the Moby's threat. A charged plasma blast finished it off, and the whale fell onto the spikepit below like its predecessor. However, unlike the one before, it did not come to a rest but instead smashed through, revealing a secret hole underneath. Mega glanced down it and shook his head; there were smooth walls all the way down, with no way of getting back up. "I'm sure there's something good down there... but it's too much of a risk now. Maybe if I find some way to reactivate the Rush Marine, I can come back and explore. Until then..." He sighed and jumped across, walking onward.

"Oh, GREAT." Mega moaned as he saw what the final stretch of Dive Man's domain was like. The still-shifting water was now accompanied by rafts covered in deadly spikes. Explosive mines bobbed under the water, interlaced with more stingrays. "Dive Man's pulling out all the stops here, looks like." He laughed as a raft set off a mine and was blown sky-high. "Still, once a lunkhead, always a lunkhead." As if in response to this, the shifting of the water level ceased, leaving the rafts to form a ceiling that only endangered if Mega jumped too high. A few more mines were all that blocked the way now. It took some complicated movements to evade them, but Mega managed, and walked through the metal shutter facing him. The antechamber held round porthole windows... and a cracked orange tank. Swearing, Mega bent over to the liquid mixing with the water and analyzed it, dreading the results.

"Water... salt... caffeine... artificial flavoring...? Wait a second here..." The blue hero began to laugh helplessly. It wasn't chemical weapons... it was orange soda! The whole time, he had been worried about the escape of a delicious beverage. The purple stuff must have been grape. Leaning against the wall to catch his breath, Mega saw _S.S. Fizz_ written on it, which caused him to laugh even harder. After a few minutes of this, he was able to stop and became serious once more. "That was good... but there's no more time for joking if I want to survive this fight." He entered the next room.

"Ah, Mega Man. I have been waiting for you to arrive." Dive Man said, turning around in a chair. "Are you prepared to lose?"

"No, not particularly. However, I am prepared to beat you and rescue the hostages. Is that close enough?" Mega replied casually. The heavy blue Robot Master blinked in confusion.

"You believe you can defeat me in an underwater duel? Not likely... but then, you are a more advanced Robot Master than I am. There is only one way to see who is correct, nevertheless. YAAA!" Shouting a battle cry, Dive Man crouched before launching himself forward as a living torpedo. Mega jumped over him, but Dive Man easily turned around and slammed into the hero's back, sending him flying.

"Oof... fast bugger, aren't you? I underestimated you because of your size... that won't happen again." He fired off a supershot which sizzled against Dive Man's armor, causing him to grunt.

"Is that all you can do? That won't be enough to sink me!" Snarling, he released a red missile from a chest hatch that immediately began tracking Mega. The blue hero was able to shoot it down, but when he turned back to Dive Man, he saw another slam attack coming. A charged plasma blast was unable to halt Dive Man's path, and Mega ate metal wall once again.

"Okay... that obviously isn't working. Let's try something else, then!" A shot of the Dust Crusher hit Dive Man full in the chest. The heavy Robot Master looked down at it, then began laughing.

"I must inquire as to what THAT was supposed to be... it hurt even less than your normal plasma blast! Technically speaking, you could destroy me with perhaps fifty of those... but you won't get the chance! All of your chances end NOW!" He fired a pair of Dive Missiles and then launched himself forward immediately. There was no way Mega Man could dodge all of these... he eagerly listened to hear the scream... "ARGH!" The next thing Dive Man knew, he was lying flat on his back, and in a world of hurt. "What... how?" Looking up, he saw Mega Man's armor was a wintry, icy blue. He was just standing there, doing nothi-wait. There was something around him... a shimmering globe of light in the shape of...

"Skulls." Mega confirmed his enemy's suspicions. "The Skull Barrier, taken from your departed brother Robot Master. A force field. Care to try that again?" Dive Man gritted his teeth and blasted off.

"Fool! I will smash through your pathetic defenses like AAAAH!" This time, the pain was twice as bad as Dive Man crumpled to the ground. Slowly, he got up. "Damn you... but I have another way to destroy you that does not involve physical contact with the Skull Barrier!" He fired a pair of Dive Missiles. "Once your shield is destroyed, you will be easy prey!" Mega shrugged, leaned against a wall and whistled nonchalantly, looking much like his brother.

"Really? We'll see." Unworried, he watched the missiles aproach... and be disintegrated without exploding. Dive Man's jaw dropped.

"Impossible..."

"Not really." Mega stood again. "Your Missiles lack the power to break through the Skull Barrier if they don't explode, and the force field disintegrates the explosion mechanism before it can activate. Face it, Dive Man. You've lost this fight already... nothing you can throw at me can work any more. It's that simple." Dive Man sighed and nodded, then saluted his enemy sharply.

"I agree... there is no reason to continue this. You have proven yourself superior. Good bye, Mega Man." A moment later, Dive Man's chest exploded in a massive ball of fire as he launched a Dive Missile without opening the hatch, and he fell to the floor, dead. Mega Man sighed and walked over to the ruined body, quickly locating the Weapons chip. Absorbing it, he looked in the metal and smiled at the navy-blue and white armor reflected in it, signifying the Dive Missile.

"That was strange... a Robot Master committing suicide... even with the Laws removed or altered, that never happened before, even when they knew they were beat. Cossack's bunch are odd ones..." He sighed and walked towards the back of the room. "But for now, I've got some hostages to free. I can think about that later..." The blue hero walked way victorious, leaving Dive Man alone in the room, the sunken ship from decades ago serving as his grave.


	8. Chapter 7: Ring Around The Robot

**__**

Chapter 7: Ring Around The Robot

"That's three of my Robot Masters he's killed now. Three." Dr. Cossack said dully, raking his fingers through his hair. "Dust Man, Skull Man and now Dive Man dead, and it's been less than a week. One more, and he'll have beaten half of them. And he shows no sign of faltering, of weakening... indeed, with each one of my robotic children he destroys, Mega Man only becomes stronger, due to that damned Weapons Copy ability of his..." Now that he had added the Dive Missile to his arsenal, Mega Man would be an even greater threat... especially to Drill Man, who had a fatal design flaw when faced with heat-seeking weaponry. So far, with the aid of a well-trained battle eye or incredible luck, Mega Man had twice chosen the Robot Master who would be best destroyed with his newest weapon. Skull Man, with his delicate workings vulnerable to jamming... and Dive Man's requirement for physical contact with his enemy for his most powerful attack. If Mega went after Drill Man next, Dr. Cossack thought angrily, he would begin to suspect the little blue robot had some other way of knowing who to strike at...

"No. Impossible." Cossack shook his head. There was simply no way Mega Man had access to his Citadel, where the designs for his Robot Masters were kept. Had the hero even taken one step in the front door, Dr. Cossack would immediately have taken action with the hostages, and Mega Man knew it. But something still troubled the Russian doctor... that figure he had seen two days ago, that was it. The one outside wearing armor similar to Mega's... but that had just been a trick of the eyes. He had sent out a robot, and there was nothing there... was there? Dr. Cossack hit himself in the head. "Idiot, idiot, idiot..." He had been a fool not to check the fortress's security cameras on the incident. If there had been somebody out there, they could have easily seen the robot coming and hid from it. Dr. Cossack decided he would review the camera footage of that area right after he made a certain... call. "Computer, open communications to all five of my remaining Robot Masters. Pharaoh Man in Egypt, Ring Man in Canada, Bright Man in Brazil, Toad Man in the United States and Drill Man in Switzerland."

"Acknowledged." The computer hummed as Dr. Cossack looked up at the main screen, which currently displayed the familiar world map with key points marked. Three of the flashing yellow lights marking the attack sites had gone dim, leaving five plus the single red and blue lights showing Dr. Cossack's and Dr. Light's domeciles. A moment later, the map was replaced by five video windows in an X pattern, each showing the face of a Robot Master.

"Greetings, Doctor." Pharaoh Man began the conversation politely. "Is it true that three of our brothers are dead now at the hands of Mega Man?"

"I'm afraid it is true, Pharoah Man. And the rest of you. Dust Man, Skull Man and Dive Man are no longer with us." Dr. Cossack sighed. "And we have no idea which of you will be next..." Ring Man's eyes lit up.

"Then we shall all have to fight twice as hard, plan twice as smart, move twice as fast and hit twice as strong for our fallen brothers, Doctor. These deaths shall not go unpunished... we shall avenge our kin, I promise you." He blinked as he realized all the others were staring at him. "What?"

"Ring Man... are all your systems functioning correctly?" Toad Man asked in a voice that would be concerned if it could break the monotone. Bright Man grinned nervously.

"In other words, are you feeling all right, Ring Man? You're talking... wierd. Not like a normal Robot Master."

"I believe one of the human terms for it is... decidedly off-kilter." Drill Man offered. Ring Man shook his head.

"Nonsense... the stress of our current situations must be affecting your processing. I am at perfect capacity and ready to battle Mega Man whenever my turn arises... perhaps even eager."

"You may get you chance sooner than you think, Ring Man, since only five of us remain." Pharaoh Man reminded him. "Do not be overconfident... such could risk everything that all of us have worked for. How are the defenses at your location?" Ring Man just laughed.

"Please, Pharoah Man! I've been constantly at work ever since I got here. Even discounting that I've got two, count 'em, TWO each of the Kabatonkis and Whappers, this place is a fortress. And not like Skull Man's castle, either. I've even put the experimental technology they've been working on here to good use in the defenses. Trust me... my new home is worthy of our show." The wording got a few raised eyebrows, but nobody argued again.

"Very well, Ring Man. If you say so..." Pharaoh Man murmured, then turned back to Dr. Cossack, eyes bright once more. "Doctor, I almost forgot to tell you. Do you recall the Wire and Balloon utilities you created for use with a matter synthesizer before the Rebellion?" Dr. Cossack frowned.

"Yes... why-oh, no..."

"I'm afraid so. The Wire utility was brought to Dive Man's area in a transport, as the Balloon utility was brought to mine. Once I realized this, I immediately used a robot to check on the Wire before Dive Man himself was killed... fortunately, it seemed Mega Man passed it up. The shutdown of that area's forces occurred before I could have it retrieved, though. As for the Balloon... it could be a dangerous tool in Mega Man's hands. Should I destroy it?"

"Before you answer, doctor, I have similar news." Drill Man broke in. "A single green Energen Crystal was discovered in our mine."

"And a Black Energen Crystal was found in the sewers." Toad Man continued. "These crystals were used by Mega Man's dog, Rush, in the Third Robot Rebellion for his Jet and Marine forms... and probably may do so again." Dr. Cossack thought deeply for a moment.

"Hmm... no. No, don't destroy them.... I may have a plan to maneuver Mega Man's choices... keep them all with you, at all times." The three Robot Masters nodded. "You may go now... you too, Bright and Ring." The communication cut off, and Dr. Cossack brought up the security camera footage from the place and time of the disturbance. "Hmm... nothing so fa-wait!" Rewinding it and pausing it, he sat back in amazement at what he saw. In a tree, a humanoid robot with armor almost exactly like Mega Man's, wearing a yellow scarf, a large shield and oversized sunglasses. "Who... who the hell is that? I've never seen him before..." The computer spoke.

"If you would like, doctor, we can run a query to-"

"No, no, no." Dr. Cossack shook his head. "That will NOT be neccessary. Whoever that is out there, he doesn't appear to be hostile yet. Whatever he's doing, I don't know. But if he comes back, have my forces attack him."

"Acknowledged." The computer agreed as Dr. Cossack walked away, deep in thought over his plan. He never considered having a robot check outside the range of the cameras in that area. Fortunate. For if he had, he would surely have discovered a large, snow-covered hill that hadn't been there before...

"You realize that this is a gigantic pain, right?" Roll asked as she bent over Eddie with a tiny set of tools. "Cleaning out all the salt that got into his systems when he fell in the ocean is not as quick and easy as it sounds. Especially when you consider that Eddie is NOT waterproofed. It's probably some kind of miracle that he didn't break down then and there, but still. It'll be several more hours at LEAST before Eddie's even close to being ready for reactivation."

"One of these days, Roll, you're actually going to do a job without complaining, and the planet is going to freeze in its orbit." Dr. Light muttered sourly from his place next to Rock. "Good thing Rock here is waterproofed... otherwise he wouldn't have made it back from Dive Man, most likely. He took a bit of a beating anyways... and for some reason, he has orange soda on him. I can't wait to hear THAT one explained. Ah, there we go..." Finishing with the repairs, the robotocist stepped away from Rock and woke him from stasis. The robot boy blinked and sat up.

"Have I been completely repaired?" Dr. Light nodded. "Good. And how about Eddie?"

"He'll be a while yet, I'm afraid." Roll sighed, not looking up from her work. "Unless you feel like taking some time to help me de-salt him, at the next place you go to he'll be coming in late or not at all." Rock thought for a moment, then shrugged as he changed into his armor.

"That's a shame... oh, well. I've done this before without Eddie... I'll manage it again. How about Rush? Any progress on locating more black and green Energen crystals for him?"

"None." Dr. Light shook his head. "Aside from the standard order which wouldn't get here until after the Rebellion was over and done with, we haven't been able to dig up jack squat on those."

"No word from Blues... or Proto Man, whatever.... either." Roll sounded worried. "I hope nothing's happened to him..." Mega laughed.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. He can more than take care of himself... remember all the stunts he pulled back in the Third? And he doesn't have to worry about working for Wily anymore now, so he should be doing even better than he was in the Third. Trust me... Proto Man is just fine."

"Well, you're the more experienced one in matters of Rebellions and their dangers." Roll conceded. "You're probably right. So, now what?"

"Now, I'm off to the next one. I was thinking Toad Man... or possibly Drill Man. Wasn't sure. What do you-" Mega's question was cut off by the blare of the vidphone, signalling that somebody was calling. Dr. Light quickly crossed over to it and examined the information displayed.

"It seems to be from Russia.... wait a second here... this is a call from Cossack himself!"

"Put him on. Now." Mega snapped, instantly dead serious enough to forget that robots, even Advanced Robot Masters, really weren't supposed to order humans around. Dr. Light nodded and flipped the switch. On the screen, Dr. Cossack appeared, hands clasped on the desk he was sitting at.

"Hello again, Mega Man. Thomas, Roll. I trust you are all well?" The deliberately commonplace tone of his words was offset by the mocking smirk plastered on his mug. Roll said something rather unladylike.

"That's MISS Roll to you, you insane idiot. I don't believe we were ever properly introduced, and I strangely have no desire for that to ever happen. I wonder why?" She made a mock thinking pose. The demented doctor raised an eyebrow, frowned, then began laughing.

"Oh, Thomas... your creations are sassy ones, indeed! Roll has the attitude problem normally associated with her visible age, I see. I did not know this before... why, if I did not know better, I might even think that she was actually human instead of a glorified piece of tinfoil and transistors." Roll's eyes widened.

"Why, you... You vodka-swilling snow-skulled simpleton, I ought to come up to your castle, rip off one of those fancy spiral towers and ram it straight up your fleshy biological-"

"As much as I would like to just sit here all day and be entertained by your verbal fencing, I do have a job to do." Mega cut in. "Roll, enough. Cossack, what do you want? I know this isn't a social call."

"You wound me deeply, Mega Man." Dr. Cossack clutched his heart, then lowered his hand and grinned menacingly. "But you are correct. I call simply to congratulate you on doing so well, to almost be halfway there with the task I have assigned you... and to offer you a, shall we say, bonus prize."

"I knew it." Mega growled. "Spit it out, Cossack."

"Recently, two of my Robot Masters discovered something very... interesting... in their new homes. Toad Man, in New York, discovered a black Energen Crystal floating in the sewers he now inhabits. And Drill Man, in a Swiss mine, unearthed a single black Energen Crystal." Mega Man fought to keep his voice calm and neutral upon hearing this news.

"Your point?"

"Well, I had heard that these two kinds of Energen Crystal were of some value to you. Or, to be more specific, your pet, Rush." Cossack continued casually. "At any rate, the information is yours to do with as you wish. I simply thought you should know. Once again, congratulations. Oh, and one more thing..." He smiled without any trace of warmth. "Don't fool yourself into thinking that the worst is over with... you have yet to fight the most powerful of my Robot Masters. Until then, goodbye, Mega Man!" Waving mockingly, he cut the connection. Dr. Light frowned.

"Well, Rock, what are you going to do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Mega Man shrugged. "This is some sort of trap. Cossack wants me to fight his strongest Robot Masters while I'm less powerful, so I have a better chance of getting killed, and he's using these Energen Crystals to bait me into it. I don't think so. My next target will be Ring Man, I think."

"Are you sure that's it? What if that's what he wants you to think, and you're playing right into his hands?" Roll pressed. Mega smiled.

"And what if he wants me to think THAT? We could sit around all day arguing theories until our faces turned blue-it'd match the rest of me, at least-and get not one step closer to ending this Rebellion. I'm off to Ring Man's now, and that's all there is to it." Dr. Light sighed.

"Just be careful..." Mega nodded reassuringly.

"I always am."

The girl had given up on trying to break the monotony. For some reason, it was getting increasingly harder to move, or to even think; it was a struggle just to eat. Dimly, she realized that there was probably some kind of illness or something along those lines, but she couldn't muster up the energy to do anything about it, even if she knew what to do. The girl wondered if dying hurt very much; she didn't know, as she had never done it before. She supposed that she would likely find out what dying was like soon, and she hoped that the robots would at least give her a proper burial instead of just chucking her body out in the snow, in a vague sort of way. The girl's ears picked up the sound of approaching metal footsteps-several of them-and her eyes moved towards them without any motion from the rest of her body. There were three of them; the green reptilian one, the squat blue one and the crystalline blue-white one. All three were familiar faces to the girl by now, but none of them meant anything special. The dark blue one pressed its face-or whatever part of a face it had-against the bars of her cell.

"Hey, human. You've been awful motionless lately... you're not up to something, are you?" The girl remained silent, and the robot glared before rattling the bars. "Hey, talk already! I KNOW you're not asleep, and I know you can hear me, so don't even bother playing dumb!" She didn't respond. Another robot, the bluish-white crystalline one, rubbed his chin.

"I don't think she's just trying to annoy us, Needle Man. Take a more detailed scan... her life signs seem to be lower than average for a human female her age and size levels. There may be a glitch."

"Perhaps she's torpid..." Snake Man suggested. "I believe some biologicals undergo a slothlike behavior at extremely low temperatures. Something to do with their blood system, I think..." The crystalline robot rolled his eyes.

"Snake Man... that's REPTILES who have cold blood. And fish and amphibians I think, but... humans are NOT any of those. Sometimes your ignorance astounds me, but since you're a reptile yourself, I suppose I shouldn't be TOO surprised by-"

"What was that?" Needle Man suddenly interrupted. "Shut up, Gemini Man... I think I heard something from down the hall... come on!" The three robots ran off, leaving the girl alone in confusion and slight interest. The three Robot Masters reached the source of the noise a few moments later, at what looked to be an ordinary wall. Snake Man frowned and scratched his scales.

"There's definately something wrong here... those noises sounded like some kind of explosions, but this wall looks fine... HUH?" All three crouched and covered their faces as the wall was destroyed in a blast of fire. Through the debris and smoke, they saw a single humanoid figure approaching. A yellow scarf fluttered in the air, and a five-note whistle was heard.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Proto Man grinned before pumping a charged plasma shot into Needle Man. The blue robot fell back, spluttering in disbelief.

"Blues? What the hell are you doing?!"

"What does it LOOK like I'm doing, spike-for-brains?" Proto Man sighed as he blasted Gemini Man. "I'm taking the girl outta here. You and all your buddies oughta be shot for keeping a human in these conditions. I'll give you all one chance to stay out of my way. Otherwise..." He left it hanging ominously with no doubt of what he meant. Snake Man snarled in response.

"Big B's a traitor, boys! We shoulda known never to trust a Lightbot! Get him! He can't take all three of us at once!"

"You mean four of us, don't you?" Gemini Man corrected him as he split into two Gemini Men and began firing ordinary plasma bullets. Proto Man danced in front of Snake Man, waving a finger in reprove.

"I'm afraid you got it all wrong, fella. I don't have to take all three-sorry, four-of you at once..." He suddenly jumped to the side, and the hail of the Needle Cannon meant for him slammed into Snake Man, pinning him to the wall. "You guys will take each other for me!"

"Idiot! Hit HIM, not me!" Snake Man hissed as he extricated himself and launched a pack of heat-seeking Search Snakes. Proto Man immediately grabbed a Gemini Man and pulled him to the ground in a wrestling hold in front of the Search Snakes. The dimwitted Search Snakes bit into them both, but the Gemini Man was a lot more vulnerable to the weak-point-finding microbots. Within the space of a few moments, there was only one Gemini Man remaining once again. Proto Man got to his feet and grinned cheekily at the infuriated Robot Master.

"One down, three to go."

"And you called ME an idiot!" Needle Man laughed at Snake Man shortly before he screamed and clutched his smoking rear end. "On second thought, never mind! Gemini Man, can't you keep track of where that damn laser rebounds? You almost took my entire back off!"

"You should stay out of its way then, thugbrain!" Gemini Man yelled back. "Okay, enough goofing around! Surround him on all sides, then everybody hit him at once!" Proto Man waited silently as the Robot Masters formed a triangle with him in the middle, then each fired their distinctive weapons... then jumped into the air and onto Gemini Man's head, avoiding everything save a few needles and watching the consternation and cursing that resulted. Needle Man and Snake Man were both hurt by the rebounding Gemini Beam and wide spread of the Needle Cannon, but it was Gemini Man who was hit hardest when the Search Snakes sent after Proto Man decided to chew on him instead. The Robot Master groaned and fell to the ground, leaking vital fluids from dozens of tiny tooth holes. He did not get up again.

"Good plan, dead man!" Needle Man spat in the corpse's direction. "New plan... grab him and hold him down, and I can finish it in one hit!" Snake Man nodded and lunged for Proto Man. A few moments of furious grappling later, Snake Man held the shades-wearing robot in a grip of... well, steel. Needle Man grinned and bent over in front of them, the spiked crown on his head moving.

"Say goodnight, fool!" The spiked crown shot out on an extending coil to impale Proto Man. However, at the last moment, the red robot slid out from the grip, and Snake Man took the hit instead. He was killed instantly. Needle Man said something unsuitable for print, spinning around... to have his face blown off by a point-blank charged blast of plasma. Proto Man sighed and looked around.

"Well, these guards are done for... but security has to have been alerted big time. We gotta get outta here, FAST... I'll grab their Master Weapons just to be on the safe side after I make sure I'm in the right place..." He walked down the hall a bit to the cell. The girl inside, raised by the commotion, stared at him feebly as he opened the cell. "God, what did they do to you?"

"You... came to rescue me... like in the fairy tales..." It was all she could force her sickened voice to erk out. The red robot nodded reassuringly.

"Like in the fairy tales, _da_." That was the last thing the girl heard before she smiled weakly and succumbed to the pain, falling into unconsciousness.

"Well, this is unusual..." Mega Man said to himself as he destroyed a defensive wall cannon. The side of the research facility had a series of bridges and ladders that he was using to climb. The unusual thing was, the bridges appeared to be made out of rainbow light created by a pair of emitters at each end.

"_The lab was created for researching light._" Mega remembered his father telling him. "_Their main point of study is something called 'hard light.' I don't get it myself, but somehow, they're able to make light into something solid that can be physically interacted with. Just don't get caught in one of the beams... it'll probably screw up your systems."_

"So this guy's been using the hard light as part of his setup..." Mega muttered, touching a toe to the first bridge and watching as it disappeared starting from his side and moving towards the other, and reappeared in the same manner. "Have to watch out for that... if he puts one over a spike bed, I'll have to use good timing to make it across alive." He walked across and began climbing all the way up, destroying more Wall Blasters and the Ringa-Ringa floating robots as he did. Admittedly, the blue hero fell a few times, but it was always easy to climb back up. Before too long, he reached the roof of the lab.

"Something's up about that sky..." Mega muttered. "It should be nighttime here in Canada, but it's bright and sunny..." As if on cue, the cloudy blue skies darkened as a yellow lift rose out of the roof on a thin pillar of disk segments. A purple beam of light streaked out of the suddenly nighttime sky and formed into a purple hippopotamus robot the size of a tank, and armored like one too. "What the hell? A holographic sky...? Well, this is a light research facility... but a Robot Master with a flair for the dramatic? Bizarre... whoa, wrong time to be thinking about this!" The hippo had opened its mouth revealing a homing missile launcher and fired off a pair. "Geez, does everybody use those things now a days?" Mega blew them away, frowning; the platform was too high. He couldn't hit the hippo. His eye wandered to the pillar. "Maybe..." The blue hero shifted his rate of fire, aiming for the pillar with regular plasma bullets. Each one knocked out a segment, lowering the platform... and the hippo. "Bingo!" Before long, it was low enough to shoot, and Mega did, obliterating the missiles it spat with the same charged blasts that continued on to burn through the thick armor. The pillar slowly produced more disks, but it couldn't keep up, and after a few minutes of furious fighting between them, the entire assemblage, platform and hippo both, keeled over and exploded. Mega looked at his energy; he had taken a few hits, bringing him down to 80%.

"I'll live." He then looked down at the roof and smiled involuntarily; the entire thing was transparent. "Well, I'll be a Monking's uncle. An actual glass ceiling. Bet that must make snowstorms interesting..." The path across the ceiling had been lined with more buzzsaw Gabyools underneath the light bridges, which made crossing a more dangerous experience than before, but Mega made it to a hole that led inside the lab. He shrugged and jumped inside.

"Enjoying the show so far, my heroic guest?" The voice came from the other side of a small room. A yellow machine was set into the floor; floating above it were six green metal rings in a cylindrical form, each about eight feet in diameter. The yellow machine seemed to be powering them. "Well, I've got another toy for you. It's called a Whapper, because of the noise it makes when it attacks. Care to see?" Without waiting for an answer, the Whapper tensed up for a moment before all the ring exploded outward in a starlike shape at lightning-quick speed. Mega Man was knocked into the wall with a great deal of pain as the rings instantly curved back through the air to their previous formation. "Cool, isn't it? I thought you'd like it!"

"Ring Man speaking, I presume?" Mega growled as he got back to his feet. The voice from the Whapper laughed.

"But of course! Listen, I've got a few more props to set up, so I'll leave you two to act out your dispute. Make it good!" The speaker shut off with an audible click as Mega blasted the yellow control machinery. It reflected off harmlessly. "Damn... plasma-deflective metals." Another charged shot showed that the rings were made of the same substance. Frustrated, Mega dodged the Whapper's next attack... and blinked. There had been something exposed for a moment when the rings flew out! Charging up a blast, Mega waited for another move from the Whapper, and when it came, he fired at what the rings were protecting. A pair of floating eyeballs. Two charged shots to each eye took them out along with the yellow machine, and the rings collapsed in a useless heap. The space where the Whapper had been in the ground led downward and onward. Mega dropped into the hole... and spun as Ring Man's voice spoke again, this time only two words.

"Plot twist!" The blue hero groaned as another yellow platform rose from the ground, and a moment later, a second hippo arrived.

"Not again... wait a second here. Maybe if I fight fire with fire..." Switching to the Dive Missile, Mega began launching rounds into the air. Each one homed in and flew into the hippo's mouth as it began to spit a missile of its own, blowing both up in its face. The eventual result was obvious. Mega walked past the wreckage once it was done and looked up at a single ladder hanging down from the ceiling of the hall ahead. "Wonder what's up there... better check it out. Hey, Rush!" The robotic dog teleported in and used his back spring to launch Mega up to the ladder. It turned to only lead to an abandoned, small room that looked as if it hadn't been used in decades. Grumbling, Mega turned to go, then heard something teleport in behind him.

"Beep!"

"Eddie?" Mega turned and saw the little suitcase-bot. "Glad you could make it after all... so, Roll managed to get all of that salt out of your systems okay?" Eddie's eyes crossed at this.

"Bleep." Mega laughed at the disgust put into that simple noise.

"I'll take that as a 'yes.' Whaddaya got for me?" Eddie chucked out a large pod of glowing energy, but unlike the regular energy pods, this one was blue, signifying Weapons Energy. Each Master Weapon ran off a seperate tank of energy in his systems. Weapons Energy was needed to refill the Master Weapons. Mega gratefully brought his Dive Missile back up to full. "Thanks, Ed! See you back home!" Eddie vanished, and Mega dropped back down to the main hallway to continue onward. He soon came across a gaping pit with floating bridges leading across; these bridges, however, were not made of hard light but of a series of thin green ring segments that linked together into a cylinder. Mega tested the first one and saw the rings vanish and reappear like light bridges, but starting at the FAR end of the bridge instead.

"A little tricky there, but nothing too bad." He frowned at the floating spinning Ringa-Ringa robots among the bridges. "Those, however, are an entirely different story. They could easily knock me off. Unless... their armor's weak. Maybe..." He brought up the Skull Barrier and allowed a Ringa-Ringa to slam into it. The robot was vaporized. "Good! Nothing to worry about now!" With the force field warding off Ringa-Ringas, Mega made it across the bridges quickly. On the other side of the gap, a ladder led down and in. Mega climbed down and was about to drop off before he hesitated. "Hold on... if I were Ring Man, what would I do here...?" He glanced down first and saw that he would land on a ring bridge. The blue hero couldn't see the edges of the room from his position... but he DID see the bed of deadly spikes below the bridge. "Crud. Gonna have to move fast... here goes nothing!" Dropping, he immediately looked for where the exit was and ran for it like a bat out of hell as the bridge began to disappear. As the last piece turned to air below him, Mega made a desperate jump and landed safely... by less than an inch. "WAY too close for comfort..." After a moment, he climbed down the next ladder.

"Ah, excellent job! That was a tough scene, but you pulled it off perfectly!" Ring Man's voice congratulated him. "Just one scene left before the big finale... you guessed it, it's another sequel!" Mega was completely unsurprised to find another Whapper waiting for him. He dealt with it as he had the first, then walked past and slid under the low overhang to the metal shutter of Ring Man's lair.

"All right, I'm here." Mega yelled as he entered a pitch-dark room. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here, hero!" The lights suddenly flashed on, revealing Ring Man on the other side of the room. The Robot Master was mostly red-armored, with several yellow rings around his arms and head, and a small vertical one on the top of his skull. "I'm Ring Man, your host, and welcome to _Silicon Gladiators_!" Mega blinked as he looked around; on an upper level, the human hostages were strapped into chairs to keep them from escaping.

"What's the point of them being in here now?" Mega demanded. Ring Man laughed at this.

"Silly hero... what's the point of putting on a great show if there's no audience to watch it?"

"Something's wierd about you." Mega declared. "Your speech is strange... and..." Suddenly he realized that Ring Man's eyes were pale and off-center. "Wait a second... the hard light! Were you... you got hit by a beam, didn't you?"

"So what if I did?" Ring Man shrugged. "That doesn't change anything! It's time for the big fight scene, Mega Man... I'm ready to play my part. Are you?" Mega Man grinned wickedly as he turned on the Dive Missile.

"Count on it, scramble-brain." The Dive Missiles soared towards Ring Man, but the enemy Robot Master whipped his hand forward and threw something out that sliced them in half. Catching the projectiles, he held them up for Mega to see; metal rings with bladed edges. "Ring Boomerangs, my weapon of choice. Trumps your first option, doesn't it?"

"We'll see about that." Mega growled as he changed to the Dust Crusher. Ring Man's eyes widened, and before he could react, it hit him in the face.

"Oof! Why you little..." Snarling, he leaped ten feet into the air across the room towards his adversary. Mega just smiled.

"Gotcha." He turned on the Skull Barrier... and Ring Man smashed through it, pinning him to the ground. "HUH?"

"News flash, hero." Ring Man snickered. "A force field that keeps out a large, lumbering enemy may not work so well against a smaller, quicker adversary who punches through less of the area with higher speed! Yeah, it hurt, but the point is, I'm not the one with a Ring Boomerang at his throat!" Mega glared up.

"Might wanna edit that last comment." The Skull Barrier blasted to life once more, sending Ring Man flying. He hit the ground on his back, but quickly flipped back to his feet, chuckling.

"That was an unexpected plot twist... but you know I won't fall for the same surprise again." Mega realized this was true; the Skull Barrier was too close-range and clumsy a weapon to work against the agile Ring Man. The Dive Missile could be cut down easily, and while the Dust Crusher had hit, it hadn't seemed to do much. Likely, a charged plasma shot would be the most effective thing here.

"All right, then... if that's the way you want it, let's keep this game simple, then." Mega returned to his standard colors and began charging a shot. Ring Man nodded once then threw a Ring Boomerang, which Mega jumped before returning fire. The charged shot burned into Ring Man's chest at the same moment as the Ring Boomerang sliced through part of Mega's leg on its return flight. They screamed in unison, but Ring Man was still able to grab his weapon.

"Heh... heh... they're called Ring BOOMERANGS for a reason, hero." Mega forced a smile to his face.

"As you said yourself... but you know it won't surprise me twice." Mega fired another plasma blast, which Ring Man countered the same way. This time, though, Mega timed his jump so that he would still be in the air when the returning Boomerang whizzed under him. Ring Man had no such luxury. Angry now, he ran forward like a charging bull, Ring Boomerang kept in his hand for a close-range slash. Mega hurdled him, turned and fired, but Ring Man ignored the shot, throwing his Ring Boomerang out and jumping staight up. Mega smirked and dodged the Boomerang... then, with horror, saw the SECOND Ring Boomerang that Ring Man had thrown at the apex of his jump, too late to dodge. It ripped deep into one shoulder on its flight outward and equally into the other on the way back. Mega fell to the ground, leaking vital fluids heavily. Ring Man advanced, a Ring Boomerang in each hand.

"Well, looks like the hero doesn't win in this show. Any closing words before I lop your head off?"

_Dammit, I can't die here..._ Mega thought furiously. _He's fading too... if I only had a little more energy, I could... wait! An E-Tank! But he'll kill me before I can drink it... gotta get him away... _ "Ring Man..." He whispered. The Robot Master blinked and bent over to his enemy.

"You have something you want to put in the credits...?" Mega grinned suddenly and pointed his buster into Ring Man's chest.

"You could say that." The charged shot sent Ring Man flying across the room. Infuriated, he lurched to his feet.

"That's IT! No more-huh? Oh, no..." He moaned as he saw Mega Man open an E-Tank and down the green goo inside. The reenergized hero turned to look at Ring Man, and the robot master knew that this was the end for him. Mega Man said two words, and then spoke no more; they were the last words Ring Man would hear in this life.

"Show's over."


	9. Chapter 8: Prince Of The Slime

**__**

Chapter 8: Prince Of The Slime

__

"Why does everybody always underestimate the green, scaly guys? Listen up, blue boy; sooner or later, you'll realize looks aren't everything. Just because somebody LOOKS like something you'd keep in a cage doesn't mean they can't bite you REAL bad where it hurts. Just a little advice." -Snakeman.exe, Netnavi

"Well, that's half of them." Roll sighed. "I suppose that's a good thing... although I think my brother dearest made a bit of a bad choice with going after this particular one too early."

"In a way, you could also call that a good thing." Dr. Light replied cheerfully. "At least Ring Man is dead, and Rock is still alive." Roll snorted.

"Please, dad. I'm in no mood for platitudes, or whatever." She glared down at Mega Man's mostly-repaired body; though almost all of the internal damage had been fixed, the multiple gashes recieved from the Ring Boomerangs were still very evident. "He must've used an E-Tank... there's no way he could have survived this much energy loss otherwise. Stupid, stupid, stupid..."

"Stupid? Using an E-Tank?" Dr. Light frowned at this pronouncement. "How is preserving his life stupid, Roll?"

"Not that, dad..." The female robot rolled her eyes. "It's how he fell right into Cossack's trap that's so stupid. Quite obviously from this much damage, I was right. Cossack was banking on Rock NOT going after Toad Man and Drill Man. The whole thing was a complicated trap, and Rock was the one who took the bait by avoiding what he THOUGHT was a lure."

"Well, perhaps he will heed your advice more next time." The doctor attempted to pacify her. Roll just sighed again.

"Yeah, maybe... and maybe it'll rain toads, too. Idiot. He'd BETTER listen to me next time, or maybe while I'm repairing him I'll accidentally cross a few wires and make him moonwalk. And I don't mean as in Gemini Man." Dr. Light laughed as he began to finish the repairs.

"That would teach him SOMETHING, all right... but it might not be exactly what you were aiming for. We're almost done here... where did you put that Ring Boomerang we found?"

"It's over on that table... I washed it off, of course." Roll glanced at the deadly weapon they had discovered embedded in her brother's leg. "I don't think he even noticed it was there. Complete doofus when he goes into battle mode, I tell you. We going to hold onto it?" Dr. Light nodded absently as he stitched up some synthskin.

"Yes... Rock might want to keep it around for something. He gets like that sometime. And if not, we can always give it to Blues as a welcome-back present when he returns... he would probably like it to make into an amulet or something."

"He likes wierd things like that, all right..." Roll agreed. "It'd look pretty good with that yellow scarf of his, I suppose. Are we going to wake up sleeping ugly here anytime soon?"

"Just a few more seconds... there." The doctor grunted as he put in the last stitch. "That should just about do it... and he's been in stasis long enough. Yes, I suppose we should wake him up now." He shook Mega until the robotic boy began to stir and opened his eyes.

"Morning, dad. Sis. Didja get that Ring Boomerang out of my leg?" Roll smiled innocently.

"What Ring Boomerang?"

"Oh, I don't know... that one, perhaps?" Mega pointed at the weapon in question on a nearby table.

"Nuts."

"Please... you'll have to do better than that to get me." Mega jumped off of the operating table. "And before you say 'I told you so,' I'll admit right here and now that you were right and I was wrong." Roll pouted.

"You're taking all the fun out of this, you know."

"You'll live."

"Children..." Dr. Light covered his face with his hands for a moment. "Enough. Please."

"Oh, all right..." Mega walked over to the Ring Boomerang and grabbed it, then flung it with an expert toss.

"HEY!" Roll yelled as she dived to the side, the deadly projectile making a cut in her dress before it sank into the wall with a grinding noise. Dr. Light groaned even louder than before.

"MORE property damage, Rock?"

"Property damage, heck!" Roll spat angrily. "You almost took my arm off, you imbecile!"

"Hmm... different feel than the Cut Blades, Quick Boomerangs and Shadow Blades... I'll have to practice a bit more before I can throw them correctly, seems like." Mega mused to himself, completely oblivious. Until Roll whacked him soundly between the eyes, that is. "OW!"

"Don't do that again." She smiled. "Anyways... gonna get going again now, I assume. Don't tell me I have to tell YOU to pick Toad Man or Drill Man, or I'll hurt you more."

"No, that's quite all right." Mega shook his head. "It's definately one of those two, then the other next time. Question is, which should I take first? The Rush Jet's probably more useful, but as we've already established, any guesses based on that kind of thing don't work. Frackin' Cossack."

"So, how ARE you going to decide then?" Roll asked impatiently. Her brother thought for a moment.

"Hm... ah, I know. Dad, you got a quarter?"

"You're going to flip a coin to decide who you're going after?" The female robot asked incredulously as Dr. Light rummaged in his labcoat pockets and finally produced one, which Mega took.

"Basically, yes. Thanks, dad." He flipped it. "Heads, Drill Man; tails, Toad Man." He caught it and put his palm over it, waited for a moment, and revealed the coin as... tails. "Toad Man it is, then. Hey, Rush!"

"Arf!" The robotic dog ran up, barking happily. Mega bent over and scratched him behind the ears.

"You're gonna get your Marine mode again soon, boy. And Jet mode soon after! Sound good to you?"

"Ruff!" Rush barked affirmatively.

"Me too. All right then, let's be off, shall we?"

"Ratton and Puyoyon patrol patterns still holding steady. All units are at 100% internal operations energy. There have been no incidents so far." The computer reported. The squat, green figure sitting before it nodded.

"Excellent... no changes." Toad Man was a round robot master with no real head; his eyes were set above his chest. "Everything's running orderly and efficient, as it should be. What about Swallon and Coswallon flight patterns? Have there been any problems with those?"

"None of great importance."

"None of...?" Toad Man blinked indignantly. "Computer, with perfect efficiency, ANY discrepancy is of great importance. Tell me of every incident. Now." Were it possible, the computer would almost certainly have released an exasperated sigh at that point before obeying.

"Five hours, twenty-one minutes ago; Swallon 34 lost Coswallon 34-1 due to a falling branch. Coswallon 34-1B was immediately sent out to replace it. Three hours, fifty-seven minutes ago; Swallon 19 encountered a hawk. One hour ago, Swallon 10 shorted itself out due to flying into a raincloud, along with Coswallons 10-1, 10-2, 10-3 and 10-4. Swallon 61, along with Coswallons 61-1, 61-2, 61-3 and 61-4 was immediately sent out to replace it." Toad Man nodded.

"Very well. In the future, computer, don't leave ANYTHING out when reporting to me. Now, then. How are the two Escaru? Do they still remain in standby mode as I left them?"

"Affirmative. The Escaru remain in standby, and the control pods rest in their power packs directly above them in the ceilings to maintain a full charge of energy so they will be ready to activate at a moment's notice."

"Good, good. And the human hostages?" The green Robot Master pressed. "Are they behaving? Being good little Mega Man lures? I always did like fishing..."

"There have been... zero escape attempts, zero fights, and zero suicides. The human hostages appear to be completely unharmed and docile. The most activity was when one of them discovered a bit of algae in their water supply." Toad Man snorted in disgust upon hearing this.

"Blech. Humans. It's perfectly good water, but they have to go making a big deal about it. They're so... inefficient. But I suppose I should be expecting that by now. That will be all for the moment, computer." He leaned back in his chair, pointy-toed feet easily leaving the floor, for a moment before making a frowning motion with his eyes and returning to his prior position. "Hold on... I almost forgot. Computer, was there a warp signature detected leaving Ring Man's territory in Canada at any time after DLN001 Rock/Mega Man arrived there?"

"Yes."

"Was it Mega Man's warp signature?"

"...Yes." The computer replied again after a moment of processing. Toad Man released a slimy curse and pounded his armrest.

"Blast! I thought we HAD him that time! How could he have been able to defeat Ring Man without the Pharaoh Shot at his command? It makes no sense according to the parameters of his abilities taken from the three Robot Rebellions before this one! None at all!"

"Excuse me, master Toad Man..." The computer interrupted his ranting with a tone that would have been almost apologetic had it come from something possessing that emotion. "You have an incoming call from Doctor Sergei Cossack at his citadel in Russia." Toad Man nodded, all business once more.

"Very well. Allow it through."

"Toad Man. I assume you already know of Ring Man's defeat." The russian doctor greeted his creation without preamble. "You are the most logical of your brethren, after all." The green Robot Master nodded.

"Yes, and I must confess I am confused, doctor. This development was a hundred-to-one chance, to use a human approximation. How...?" Somewhat surprisingly, Cossack's face held no annoyance, but a weary amusement.

"Toad Man, by any chance are you using the statistics on Mega Man that we acquired from the first three Rebellions as your calculations?"

"Well... yes."

"I thought so." Cossack chuckled. "Well... first off, those statistics no longer apply to Mega Man. The new plasma weapon that he has... it is at least five times as powerful as his ordinary plasma bullets. He killed Dust Man with eight hits. I'm surprised you missed that part of the answer."

"Now that you bring it to mind, I suppose I should have looked at the data from the others' fights more closely..." Toad Man acknowledged. He blinked. "Wait. What do you mean, 'that part of the answer,' Doctor?" Cossack laughed again.

"Exactly what it sounds like, Toad Man. That is only part of the answer as to why Mega Man has gotten so far." His smile faded. "Something that I, that all of us failed to take into account... is the difference between a regular Robot Master and an Advanced one. Mega Man, Roll, and Blues... and that wretched soul, Doc Man... are very different from all other Robot Masters, including you and the rest of your brethren. Mega Man possesses an advantage over you, an incredibly powerful attribute that has done more for his victories than any weapon."

"And what is that, Doctor?" Toad Man asked, curious in spite of his skepticism at this kind of talk. Cossack stared right into his eyes.

"His spirit, Toad Man. His will, his drive. That cannot be measured by statistics... cannot be predicted in planning for a fight with him. Unlike you and the others, who fight because that is what your programming tells you to do... Mega Man fights of his own choice. Like you, he can not stop fighting or surrender, but for him, it is because HE can never do that, not because his programming makes him. Quite frankly, Toad Man... this begins to worry me."

"Well, I may have a chance." Toad Man tried to cheer his creator up. "It stands to reason that Mega Man will have seen through your subterfuge and attack either myself or Drill Man next. If he goes after Drill Man first, I am lost. But if he fights me without the Drill Bomb... I may have a chance at ending his life. That is all I can promise, Doctor." Cossack nodded.

"I am glad to see you are being both optimistic and realistic. To answer your question, Toad Man... he is coming for you next. Be ready... I have no doubt in my mind that you will make me proud."

"My existence is my duty, Doctor Cossack. I shall not let you down." Toad Man saluted sharply and cut the connection. "Computer, prepare the Escaru for action, and switch all robots from patrol patterns to defense pattterns. Mega Man is on his way here even as we speak."

"Acknowledged."

"Well, at least it's not smelling yet..." Mega Man acknowledged with a sigh as he looked into the rainstorm he had landed right in. The blue robot had arrived outside the most ready entrance; a brick walkway crossing the Hudson River, pouring water from the pipes out its sides. Across it was an open pipe leading further in. "Good thing the NY police were able to find this place as the main way Toad Man's robots were using to get in an out..." Mega muttered a thanks to whatever gods there might be for that luck. Otherwise, he would have had to use a random manhole and might have gotten lost in the maze down there for the rest of his life. "I just hope Toad Man's made his influence pretty straightforward... the more logical thinker he is, the better, in this case. If he's like Ring Man, I'm in trouble. Well, no use in idle speculation... huh?"

"SKREEE!" With a fierce shriek, a pack of blue bird robots dived at the surprised hero. The leader was almost as big as Mega, while the others were only the size of baseballs, but they all had sharp beaks and claws which they used to inflict damage before being destroyed.

"Aw, man... down to 80% energy already? I'm gonna have to be more careful, or I'll wind up just another piece of garbage here..." As he moved across the walkway, more birdbots swooped down, along with Metool-like walking heads that fell from the heavens before launching dagger-tipped umbrellas. "Either somebody's a fan of that old supervillain, the Penguin, or he's just got a twisted sense of humor about this rainstorm." Shaking his head, Mega jumped the projectile and wasted its wielder. Unfortunately, the storm was growing heavier, and the birds were unaffected by it, seeming to become even more accurate with their dives. And all that BEFORE he saw what the condition of the walkway further on was...

"What the hell is THIS?" Mega asked the heavens as he stood in front of the large gaps of broken brick. "Why on earth would this be part of the design plan? It makes no sense... wait." He smacked hismelf in the head. "DUH. It might not make sense for human use, but Toad Man probably knew I was coming and did this. He couldn't take out the entire bridge, or I wouldn't go on at all. No, he had to leave just enough so that I'd be stupid enough to try and cross." He smiled grimly. The Hudson below was in such a state due to the heavy storm that if he fell in, the blue hero would be instantly blasted away to who-knows-where. The ocean, maybe. Not fun, but what choice did he have? "I need a raise." He continued muttering to himself as he crossed. Fortunately, there was only one pack of birds that attacked while he was in the precarious position. Still, by the time he had finally reached the end of the walkway and the way into the sewers, Mega was down to 50% of his energy.

"I just hope it's better inside than it is out there..." Dropping in, he immediately found himself face-to-face with a humongous rat. "YAAA!" Yelling, the blue hero jumped back and was about to fire when he realized the rodent wasn't mechanical. It was a live rat. Squealing, it turned and ran in fright. Mega watched it go and laughed weakly. "Now I'm harrassing the wildlife... if you can call it that. What's next? Do I interrupt a family of leeches during their dinner?" He dropped further down into some running water and frowned at a robotic leech hanging from the ceiling. "Close enough." A single supershot incinerated it before it had a chance to drop down and sink its fangs into him. Next on his hit list was another rat, this one a robot enemy. It was destroyed as easily as the leech.

"I might not be in such bad shape after all..." Mega realized. "If these types of weaklings are the only guards Toad Man's got down here in the sewers themselves, I could make it to him without another scratch." Indeed, the rats and leeches showed themselves to be a remarkably pathetic defense force, even when the battlefield was changed to their advantage by waterfalls from above that threatened to wash Mega over edges into dark, unknown depths. Following the paths down another level, Mega smiled as he landed in a dry pipe.

"My luck just keeps getting better and better..." He turned around. "Or NOT..." The way onward was filled by a tank-sized, decidedly grumpy-looking robotic snail. Slowly, its eyes opened to glare at him. "Roadblock. Figures. Well, everything comes crumbling down in the end..." With those words of wisdom, Mega attacked the snail's shell... and watched in horror as the plasma supershot was deflected. "No way... is that entire THING plasma-deflective?! DAMN Cossack anyways!"

"Now, that is impolite. And illogical." A voice from below the snail's eyes croaked. "You could be using your energy much better in a futile struggle to avoid defeat than by pointless cursing."

"Well, if it isn't the frog prince." Mega spat as he avoided a large bomb launched from the top of the shell. "Where the heck did you boys find enough plasma-deflective metal for one of these? Last I checked, the stuff wasn't available on the shopping channel for ninety-nine ninety-nine plus shipping and handling."

"Two, actually." Toad Man corrected him, the snail simultaneously launching its eyes at Mega in a boomeranging arc. The rest of the war machine remained completely still until they returned. "There are two, so don't get too happy if you somehow manage to destroy this one. As for your question... well, let's just say several trucks shipping valuable cargo across out-of-the-way roads met with... accidents."

"Roadside banditry. Why am I not surprised by this. Oh well, it's all slag now!" Mega crowed as the eyes on the snail exploded and the rest of it died with a hum.   
"WHAT?!" Toad Man croaked incredulously over the fading intercom. "How did you..."

"Simple." The blue hero explained. "While you were running your mouth off, I fired small shots at every point that was exposed outside the shell. Not only did the eyes get damaged the most, but I also noticed that when they were disconnected, the rest of the snail went cold. Thus, I figured they were the control unit and power source. I was right, wasn't I? Tell me I was right." All Toad Man told him was a rather rude suggestion before the speaker gave out as well. Mega shrugged. "Oh well. I'm pretty sure I was right anyways..." Climbing over the shell without any fuss, he continued down the pipe. And back into the waterways. "Figures..."

"Beep BEEEEEEP!" A frantic, familiar noise drew Mega's attention to the water, where Eddie was being carried along helplessly by the current, his legs paddling uselessly against it. Mega groaned.

"Aw, geez... Eddie, just teleport! Forget it this time!" As the little suitcase robot disappeared down a side tunnel, the whine of a teleport showed that he was following the advice. Mega put his hand to his face. "Looks like I'm not the only one who's having a hard time with the water here..."

Then he began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Do you think he's doing okay?" Roll asked her father as she served him and their guests some tea once more. "Rock, I mean."

"Worried about how he'll fare against... who was it again, X?" Dr. Corbun asked the billionaire, taking a sip of his beverage. Mr. X smiled as he took his.

"Toad Man, doctor."

"Ah yes, the frog prince... I wouldn't worry, Roll. Rock beat Serpos-sorry, Snake Man-didn't he? And snakes eat toads. Shouldn't be any problem at all."

"That's hardly a sound basis to be making a judgement on." Vinkus snorted. "You could just as well say that any Robot Master with an emphasis on speed would be no problem after he defeated Quick Man in the Second Rebellion."

"Sounds good to me!" The british robotocist agreed happily, more out of a desire to annoy Vinkus than actual belief. The politician just muttered something that was probably more than vaguely insulting under his breath as Roll laughed, Mr. X smiled tolerantly and Dr. Light just shook his head.

"Please, you two... enough bickering for now. There's enough verbal combat in this house already with Rock and Roll. Just because Blues is gone for now doesn't mean you need to fill the abscence. Would you believe I actually enjoy peace and quiet once in a while?"

"Not while they're around, you won't." Roll grinned. "And even afterwards, you can count on everybody else around here to keep things interesting for you." On cue, there was the whine of an incoming teleport accompanied by a brown beam of light that formed into Eddie, sitting on the coffee table. He was covered in water, green slime and other, less identfiable (thankfully) substances. All five people wrinkled their noses simultaneously at this.

"Oh, Eddie... what happened NOW?" Dr. Light sighed. The suitcase robot turned to Roll and explained in a stream of binary. She groaned.

"He says he fell in the current and was unable to even reach Mega at all. Perfect. He did manage to kill a fish robot by crashing into it, though, so I suppose that's something. Come on, you, let's get you cleaned up... at least it's not salt water this time." Grabbing a towel out of a cabinet, she wrapped Eddie in it to prevent further leaking on the carpet and carried him to the lab. The four men waited until she was gone, then simultaneously burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha... if it makes you feel any-ha ha-better, Tom, fatherhood with non-ha ha ha-robotic kids isn't that much better! Ha ha ha!" Dr. Corbun was almost falling out of his chair.

"Ha ha ha... I had thought some of your stories were exaggerations, my friend... hee hee... but now I am starting to wonder!" Mr. X wasn't doing much better. Dr. Light shook his head.

"No... they're all true, unfortunately... ha ha! This house has the scorch marks to prove it!" Even Vinkus was chuckling.

"Heh heh... I must say I don't envy you living here, Tom. The bills to repair all the damage must be catastrophic." He looked at the coffee table. "Speaking of which, if you don't want to buy a new one of those, I think you might consider cleaning that up fairly quickly."

"Probably." Corbun deadpanned as the elder doctor grabbed some cleaning supplies and got to work on it.

"I suppose I should consider myself lucky..."

"Lucky?" Vinkus blinked, taken aback upon hearing this. "Would you mind explaining HOW one could consider this lucky?"

"Rush isn't here."

"That would do it, yes." Dr. Corbun agreed after a moment's thought. "You ever owned a dog, Vinky? I have, and they can always be counted on to make a bad mess worse. Especially if it smells bad, which this most certainly does."

"Once again, could be worse." Mr. X smiled. "What if it was Skunk Man instead of Toad Man?" The others all shuddered.

"Pray to whatever gods there are that no maniac will ever make THAT idea into reality..." Vinkus urged them. They all nodded quickly, Corbun in particular.

"Amen to THAT. Of course, now that I've agreed with Vinkus on something, the world's going to implode, so it doesn't even matter." He waited for a few moments in which the others obligingly remained silent, then made a rude noise. "Well, so much for any store _I_ put in religion."

"The churches will mourn your loss greatly." Vinkus replied drily. "At any rate... I suppose that little baggage-bot's return should be considered a good thing. It means Mega Man's still alive, or he would have told Roll."

"Oh, Rock's not just alive, I'd bet." Dr. Light grunted as he got rid of the cleaning supplies, his job done. "He's probably got some frog's legs served up by now. What kind of special weapon could a toad use, anyways? Lily pad missiles?" They all thought for a moment before Corbun came up with an idea.

"Maybe an electric-powered tongue?"

"Um... I don't believe the Variable Weapons System is designed with that in mind." Dr. Light turned it down. "And besides, even if it was, that would just look... not good.... from Rock."   
"I believe the technical term is 'just plain WRONG,' Tom." Mr. X told him. Dr. Light nodded.

"Yes, that's what I was thinking of."

"Let's change the subject." Vinkus pleaded. "To anything. We can change it to the tea for all I care."

"Ah, tea." Dr. Corbun lifted his cup to eye level. "One of mankind's greatest inventions in my not-so-humble opinion. Whether green here in Japan, grey back in my homeland, or any other color in any other country. It's truly a shame that it's not as popular as coffee for the caffiene value across the globe."

"I was JOKING." The politician growled. "Rather than listen to a continued dissertation on tea leaves from you, let's go back to discussing Mega Man, shall we? It is the current hot topic, after all... only this time, without the disturbing mental images, please." Dr. Light nodded.

"Well, I assume you saw that broadcast from Cossack." They all nodded. "It was a double-fake... he actually wanted Rock to NOT attack Toad or Drill."

"So, after he defeats the robot ribbit, he'll be heading to that mine in the mountains?" Corbun mused.

"Then there will only be two left... Bright Man and Pharoah Man." Mr. X agreed. "And after they are dealt with, I assume Cossack himself shall be stopped?"

"Unless he has a backup army ready to take more hostages, yes." Dr. Light agreed. "We're certainly not going to just leave him there. But one thing at a time, after all... I wonder if Rock's defeated Toad Man yet."

"I never did like escargot..." Mega muttered as he climbed over the second snailbot and beheld a large pool of stagnant water. "Hmph... some pipes must be closed off. I think I'll try not to fall in if possible anyways, though..." Climbing onto an old maintenance catwalk and walking across, he didn't bat an eyelid when a mechanical fish launched itself out of the water at him, jaws gaping, and he destroyed it. "Same model as Dive Man used... efficient, but ineffective." The biggest problem with crossing the water turned out to be a section where the catwalk had given out, forcing him to jump down into the drink. Still, he made it to the other side of the pool safely and walked through the familiar, if oddly copperish, shutters.

"It was only a matter of time before you arrived here, after you deactivated my second Escaru." Toad Man said as way of greeting. "Shall we get this started right away, then?"

"I'm completely soaked, I've got bite marks, and I smell bad." Mega growled back. "I'm as eager to get this done with as you are. But a couple questions first. Where are the hostages, and the green Energen crystal?"

"The humans are in the hall behind this room." Toad Man replied. "Second door on the right."

"And the guards are set to deactivate once you've been killed? I believe that's the standard agreement." Mega asked just to make sure. The amphibious Robot Master shook his head-well, what head he had-and nodded at the same time, looking decidedly odd as he did so.

"Yes and no. Yes, all robots here will shut down upon my defeat. But there are no guards near the human hostages."

"You don't have any robots guarding them at all?" Mega asked, surprised. Toad Man shook his head.

"None. I have simply set an acidic rain pod to activate if the only door is opened from that side." Mega's face turned grim.

"You're a cruel one."

"Cruelty is a human emotion." Toad Man countered. "I am simply striving to maintain maximum efficiency. However, if you open that door from the hall side, the pod shall be destroyed harmlessly. As for the Energen crystal..." He pointed to a glass case set in the wall, where a familiar glittering gem was resting. "Does that satisfy all of your questions?"

"All except one." Mega smiled grimly as he drew a Ring Boomerang. "Are you ready to die?"

"Well, let me think about that one for a moment..." Toad Man croaked and rolled his eyes before leaping high into the air without warning, heavy metal body aimed to land on Mega. The smaller blue robot, though, had grown used to this trick from Cossack's robots and rolled out of the way, retaliating with the razor-edged projectile. Toad Man grunted as it sliced into his armor.

"Dodge this, then!" Raising his hands above his head, he threw a pod upwards into the ceiling. It burst, and waves of acid splashed down, scattering all over the room. Toad Man appeared to be specially designed to be unaffected by the compound, but Mega Man was not so lucky. Screaming, he threw more Ring Boomerangs.

"That HURTS, damn it!"

"That was the general idea, I believe." Toad Man deadpanned, not budging an inch as the deadly projectile was melted down by the acid. "That won't work, by the way... those weapons are too fragile."

"Thanks for the tip!" Mega snarled as he suddenly jumped forward and fired several Dive Missiles straight into the portly Robot Master's gut. Toad Man stumbled backwards, croaked and responded with more acid, which threw the missiles' targeting off. When Mega tried to get closer, he simply leaped across the room, and the blue robot was forced to discard another weapon.

"Don't even try the Dust Crusher, by the way." Toad Man wagged a finger. "Its structural integrity will be easy prey for my Rain Flush."

"All right, then..." Mega returned to his normal colors. "Let's just go with the basics, then! In your own words... dodge THIS!" The charged plasma blast flew straight and true into Toad Man's face even as he tried to jump it, and its followup hit him in the gut.

"Why, you...!" Toad Man raised his hands again, but another blast knocked him back on his rear. Every time he tried to get back up and call the deadly rain again, Mega Man's shot hit him first. With a growing sense of desperation, the amphibious Robot Master tried leaping away or onto Mega, but that only left him even more open for a hit as soon as he landed. It wasn't long before he collapsed, unable to move as Mega approached, charging the final blow.

"Sometimes, Toad Man, fancy logic can be defeated by the simple basics. Remember that, wherever you go." Toad Man closed his eyes, resigned to his fate.

"I shall." He did not open his eyes again, and thus did not see the final charged plasma blast that made his entire world go white even through his eyelids for a single second before it all faded to black.


	10. Chapter 9: Drilling For Disaster

**__**

Chapter 9: Drilling For Disaster

__

"Look, kids. I'm going to tell you this nice and straight, because I am a nice guy. All of you with no more tactics than a charging rhino? You're dead the first time you fight a real opponent unless you wise up. Too many Mavericks have a way of simply avoiding your attacks, like burrowing into the ground. I use that trick myself, so I know how effective it is." -1st Unit Maverick Hunter Armored Armadillo, shortly before his infection and the First Maverick Uprising

"All right... that should do it for this tunnel." Drill Man grunted as he lifted his head out of the dirt. Using his arms, which ended in drills smaller than the one atop his head, the red Robot Master pulled himself completely from the ground. "Hey, Helipon 72-B! Get over here!"

"What is your command?" A whirling helicopter blade kept the addressed robot in the air. Drill Man pointed at the hole he had climbed out of.

"Have this hole filled back up, and only the hole. Don't do anything to do the new tunnel below; I'm going to be setting sentries there soon."

"Understood." The Helipon flew off to get help from others of its series as Drill Man walked away in the opposite direction, towards his command center.

"Computer, update map with the new tunnel I have just completed." He ordered once he had arrived. "Then bring up the list of dormant robots so I may assign some of them to the tunnel."

"Acknowledged." The red Robot Master waited until the correct screen was up, then began selecting the sentries. He was so engrossed in his work that it took him five minutes to notice the blinking "call waiting" light.

"Computer, why did you not inform me there was an incoming call?" He demanded sharply.

"You have set me not to interfere with or interrupt you while you are working on something."   
"Ah... yes." He grunted. "Well, put the doctor through... it IS Doctor Cossack, isn't it?"

"Correct." The computer affirmed as the face of Drill Man's creator appeared onscreen.

"Drill Man." He greeted him with an odd, dead sort of tone in his voice. "I am calling to bid you farewell... it seems the least I can do."

"Thank you, Doctor... I suppose." Drill Man tilted his head to show confusion. "However... may I be permitted to inquire why exactly you are saying goodbye to me? Are you going somewhere?"

"Drill Man..." Cossack sighed and looked down. "Drill Man, I am afraid you are deceased." That made the red Robot Master blink.

"Pardon?"

"Mega Man will be coming for you very shortly, Drill Man." Dr. Cossack informed him. "You are the one who possesses the Black Energen Crystal that will enable his mongrel's Jet mode, which was an invaluable tool during the Third Robot Rebellion. He has defeated Toad Man as well too, now... and of course, you know he has the Dive Missiles at his command."

"Could it look any worse for me?" Drill Man rolled his eyes heavanward. "Really. Could it? Inquiring minds want to know." This actually caused Dr. Cossack to chuckle, something which had not often happened from the heart for a long time now, since before the Rebellion started.

"Well, Drill Man, I wasn't going to mention it, but since you asked... I detected him leaving Dr. Light's Lab and heading for Dive Man's old lair a few minutes ago. Doubtless, he is planning to use the Rush Marine in order to acquire the Wire utility that was hidden there."

"Well, that won't make much of a difference down here, at least..." Drill Man smiled. "These tunnels are too enclosed for the Wire to be of much use." Briefly he considered asking the doctor if he would like him to destroy the Energen Crystal, but decided against it. "So... only myself, Bright Man and Pharoah Man remain."

"Correct." Dr. Cossack nodded, grim once more. "Drill Man, I will not lie to you. In my eyes... you and Bright Man are both already lost. In fighting ability, you are on the same level as Ring Man was, at best... and Mega Man defeated HIM even without using solar energy."

"I see... what about Pharaoh Man?"

"Pharaoh Man... may still have a chance. He is the only one who still has a chance." The Russian Doctor admitted. "He is the strongest of you, the most powerful of my Robot Masters. It all depends on the order... if Mega Man attacks Pharaoh Man before Bright Man... but how...?"

"Doctor, does Pharaoh Man not possess the Balloon Utility, as Dive Man possessed the Wire?" Drill Man asked. His creator's eyes widened.

"Yes... yes, he does! I had forgotten about that... thank you, Drill Man. Yes, perhaps I can use that to our advantage, and trick Mega Man into going after Pharaoh Man first... but it will have to be tricky..."

"You can do tricky very well, Doctor." Drill Man smiled again. "And the rest of us have a moderate grasp of it ourselves... most of us, anyways. My network of tunnels, for example... I hope it at least causes Mega Man some trouble. I know it's a slim chance that he will die here, but it is a chance nonetheless."

"You're not troubled by how you are almost certainly going to die soon?" Dr. Cossack looked slightly incredulous. His creation shrugged.

"What would be the point of such a thing? If it will happen, it will happen. Until then, I shall continue forward with our mission, as always. I am not designed for feelings of hopelessness, Doctor."

"So I see..." Cossack mused, half to himself. "Sometimes I almost forget... at any rate, he will likely teleport to your domain directly from Dive Man's once he has acquired the Wire. Be prepared, and make me proud. Goodbye, Drill Man." The connection was cut, and Drill Man sighed.

"Make you proud... that is much easier said than done, Dr. Cossack, especially with Mega Man around. But I shall try to do my best. If you're going to do something, do it right, after all. Correct, computer?"

"That makes logical sense." The mindless machine responded pleasantly. Drill Man rolled his eyes once more.

"I'm sure it does, computer. Now, then, let's get down to more important issues. How many Taketentos do we have that are ready for flight and patrol duty in the mine at this moment?"

"Ah, human nature." Rock snorted. "Figures. Less than a week since I cleared this place out, and already it's a new tourist trap." He was standing on the central portion of the sunken _S.S. Fizz_, which had formerly been Dive Man's domain, the only part of the ship above the waves. Below on the nearby coastline, humans both native and tourist were swarming around in the hundreds, all eager to see the site of part of the famous Robot Rebellion. None of them were actually IN the water, of course; at this time of the year this far north, it was about fifty degrees below "human ice cube." Rock smiled; for once, he was not wearing his Mega Man armor at the moment. "Good thing I fit in, huh, Rush?" He scratched the head of the dog next to him, who barked happily in response. The robotic boy was wearing bermuda shorts, sandals and a loud blue-and-red hawaiian shirt that had been a gift from his older brother on his last birthday (Roll had recieved an orange-and-green one). "Shall we get going, then? If there's anything important down at the bottom of that hole, it's waited for us long enough, don't you think?"

"Ruff!" Rush barked in agreement once more before squatting down, his body transforming into a miniature submersible craft, with a single seat under a bubble dome. Rock climbed in and closed the bubble above him as Rush leaped off of the edge, going into a perfect swan dive before he hit the water.

"No leaks at all... what about the mouth cannon?" Rock asked. Rush responded by spitting a globe of plasma, and his master smiled. "Excellent. Looks like the Rush Marine's restoration is a 100% success. Forward!" They blasted along the ocean floor, unnoticed by the people above, until they came to the wreckage of the second massive whale robot. Rock quickly spotted the hole in the ground. "In there!" The hole led down to a deep cavern underneath the wreckage of the _S.S. Fizz_. More importantly, its walls were lined with deadly spikes the entire way down. The good part was, the Rush Marine had excellent steering; Rock was able to guide it down without any close calls at all, even as they dropped lower and the light faded until they were in pitch blackness. At the very bottom, the cave expanded into a small cube with no other entrances or exits other than the way they had come. However, what attracted the attention of both Rush and Rock was a glowing green capsule with a "W" marked on it.

"Ruff!" Rush barked once before picking the capsule up in his jaws. He tried to bark again then, but was unable to.

"Awright, Rush. Let's head back up to dry land!" Rock steered the marine mutt back up the spike-lined tunnel and into the sunlit sea. From there, they sped off towards the closest end of the _S.S. Fizz_, Rock pleasantly noting that the spike-rafts and explosive mines had been taken out. Once they reached the shore, Rush found a spot that had no nearby onlookers at the moment and leaped out, opening the bubble dome. Rock climbed out and took the green capsule from the dog, who promptly reverted to full canine form. "Shall we see what's in this thing, then?" Producing a Ring Boomerang, he deftly sliced the top off of the canister and peered inside. The contents were packed in multiple layers of bubble wrap. Removing it all revealed... a single computer chip. "Huh? What good is this... wait. I wonder..." Frowning, he tried using the Weapons Copy system on it, and grinned as it worked! "Yes! I've got a new toy! Hmmm... just called 'Wire', eh? So that's what the W stands for... but what does it do?" He tried firing it, but there was no response save a dull clank from his buster. "Sonofa... what's wrong?"   
"Did you try examining the schematics?" A voice came from Rush's back. The dog whined and went back to Marine mode, revealing a small communications device set into the cockpit. From the sound of the talker's voice, it was Roll. "Maybe you have to do something special in order for it to work."

"Hmm... you may be right." Rock admitted grudgingly, following the suggestion. "Bingo... the buster has to be pointed upwards? Wierd... but I've seen worse. Let's give it a shot..." Looking upwards, he fired skyward and saw a long metal grappling hook fire upward, clutch at the air ineffectively and retract. "Well, that's... different..."

"What is it?" Roll demanded.

"Grappling hook. I'm guessing it can pull me up to a ceiling... could probably take out an overhead enemy, too. All in all, a pretty nifty invention. I wonder where it came from? A previous invention of Cossack's?"

"Probably." Roll agreed. "Should come in handy, anyways. I assume you'll be heading over to Drill Man's right away?"

"Yup. No point in wasting time in coming back when I'll just be going out again, is there?"

"No... if you plan on fighting Drilly in that hawaiian shirt." She snickered. Rock rolled his eyes.

"Har. Har. Har. I'll switch it for my armor now..." He sent off the command. "There. Shouldn't take too long for the teleport to get here... eh?" He blinked as he looked around, noticing for the first time that he was surrounded by a ring of people. One Norwegian boy with blonde hair walked up to him, eyes wide.

"You're Mega Man, aren't you?" Rock winced.

"Well... kinda. But when I'm not fighting, please just call me Rock, okay? Rock Light."

"If that wire thingy wasn't a weapon, I don't wanna know what is." A woman commented. Rock sighed and spread his hands.

"Look, lady. Do you know what happens to anybody who tries fighting an army of homicidal robots in a hawaiian shirt and bermuda shorts? Even me? They get wasted, that's what. These clothes are fun, not functional."

"That was still really cool, though!" The kid exclaimed brightly. Rush barked as if to agree, and Rock turned to him.

"Et tu, bow-wow?" Suddenly, he was enveloped in blue light, and a moment later the clothing was replaced by his familiar blue battle armor. The people were all staring, wide-eyed, but the kid was first to open his mouth.

"Cool!"

"Thanks. NOW you can call me Mega Man." Mega glanced at Rush, who immediately ran back to his master's side. "I'd love to stick around here and chat with you all day, folks, but I'm afraid I need to be off if I want to stop this Rebellion cold. Drill Man in Switzerland is just asking for a blasting."

"How many are left?" A man on the outskirts of the crowd called. Mega held up three fingers.

"Drill Man, Bright Man, Pharoah Man. After them comes Cossack himself... but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. See you all later!" Waving, the hero and his dog vanished in streams of blue and red light, leaving the crowd behind to stare into the sky for several moments afterward. Once again, the small boy was the first one that broke the silence.

"Anybody who says robots getting too human is a bad thing... has never met THAT guy."

"All right, where'd the bugger go..." Proto Man muttered, wiping snow off of his shades. A flash of brown caught his eye, and he spun and fired all in one movement. The animal went down, smoking. Sighing, Proto walked over and examined the body. "Good... looks like most of it's still salvagable." Indigenous wildlife of Russia was not one of Proto Man's knowledge specialties. Thus, he mentally referred to the creature he had just downed as "deer-moose things." It had been five days since he had busted the girl out, and the deer-moose things were the only real available source of food for her. Fortunately, several years spent wandering in the African Congo had given Proto Man moderately sharp hunting skills, more out of a neccessity for self-preservation than anything else. Robots, even the most advanced ones, were not even capable of eating. Small, sick human girls, on the other hand... Proto Man shrugged as he started to lug the deer-moose thing back to the cave where the girl was sleeping.

"I suppose I should look on the plus side... with all this snow, there's no problem getting enough water. Aah, foolish optimism. What would I do without it?" He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Burn and die, I suppose. One insane Advanced Robot Master was more than enough for this world. I don't particularly plan on becoming the next Doc Man... bald and grinning isn't my style." The red robot grunted as he tripped over a rock, but managed to right himself before he fell on his face. "Close one. This thing would have squashed me flat. Ah, here we go..." He smiled as he reached the cave, easing the carcass to the ground outside before walking in. The girl was lying on the skin of another one of the deer-moose things. Her eyes flitted up to Proto Man as he entered, but she remained motionless aside from that.

"Blues..."

"Shh, don't talk now." He smiled reassuringly even as he wagged a finger. "You should be getting some heavy sleep, missy, and you know it. We don't know how long that blizzard will be going on outside of here, and the moment it stops we'll have to move on. You need to get as much rest as you can, while you can, because we won't have time for it later." She sighed.

"Yes... I'll try to do that." She turned over and closed her eyes. Proto Man nodded in approval.

"Good. I caught more food for you... I'll cook it now, and you can eat it when you wake up as I carry you. Sorry it's just deer-moose thingy again... there's not much available here in winter, even if I knew how to look for it. For what fruits and vegetables there are still around here, I can't tell which ones are poisonous for the life of me. Maybe we'll get lucky and I'll find a wild boar or something different next time, but for now, this will have to do, I'm afraid."

"It's okay..." The girl replied without opening her eyes. "I'm lucky even to be alive, Blues... you don't need to apologize. For anything at all. I owe you my life... you saved me from there."

"Yeah, yeah." The red robot bowed his head, embarrassed. "Don't thank me just yet... we're not through with this by a long shot." Without turning around, he fired over his shoulder and destroyed the robot that had been sneaking up on them. "Case in point. We've got a long ways to go as of yet, and if we want to make it out in one piece... you need to rest now, you hear me?" She nodded.

"_Da_."

"Then sleep." Proto turned, walked back outside and began scrounging up some logs for a cooking fire. With all the other problems the girl had from her ill-treatment in the prison, the last thing she needed was some disease from raw meat. "Five days... and who knows how many more it'll take. Frackit, I need some kind of GPS system... it couldn't be THAT hard to install." Five days spent travelling through the Russian wilderness in winter was five days too many, especially for a small child in that condition. But there was no other choice. Teleportation could have gotten Proto out of there at any time, yeah. But that would mean leaving the girl behind, for teleportation scrambled human brains and would violate the First Law of Robotics, causing immediate mind freeze. Not acceptable; not in the least. So he walked.

"Right now, I would give everything I'm wearing for a vehicle." Proto appealed to the heavens. "I meant it. Armor, buster, shades, even my scarf." There was no response. Proto Man waited a few seconds before cheerily giving the bird to the storms. "There you go then, pal. You can have that free of charge." Shrugging, he turned his back on the skies and bent over to pick up a medium-sized chunk of wood. "This'll do. Few more of these, and then we'll be cooking... right, buddy?" He glanced over at a snow-covered lump. Underneath the frost was the remains of Magnet Man, who had attacked shortly after Blues had put the girl in her cave on account of the blizzard. The cocky Robot Master had somehow gotten it into his head that he could beat Proto Man in a straight fight, and had paid for it. On a whim, Proto had arranged the body standing up in a heroic pose, looking for all the world like a statue save the missing head. That had been placed in front of Magnet Man's own foot. Pity the snow covered the whole assemblage; Proto could really use a small laugh right about now.

"That should be enough wood..." He decided. "If not, I can get more. But this should do for a start." An errant thought made him chuckle as he returned to the cave. "I wish they would send Wood Man out here. He could be useful right about now... heh heh heh." He dumped the wood on the ground inside the cave in a pile, pulling out a matchbook. "To whatever gods there are, I offer a resounding thanks for arranging things so that I have these. I shudder to think about what sort of condition we would be in right now if I didn't.... probably be trying to recall how the boy scouts do it, and failing rather miserablly. I'm not exactly boy scout material anyways." He altered his voice, reducing it by about five years. "Sir, I've completed the Robot Killing and World Saving merit badges! Next, I'm going to go for the Jail Breaking one, and then the Brother Whacking badge!" This time, he did laugh at his own joke for a short perioid of time. "Okay, enough of that. Down to cooking." Before too long, he had a nice blaze going. As soon as it had reached the level where he no longer had to constantly keep watching it, the yellow-scarved robot went and brought the latest deer-moose thingy inside.

"Good thing I don't mind gross work, and she seems pretty tolerant of what I have to do to get food out of these things." Proto grunted as he stripped the good meat off of the bones. "Man... I wish I had some Shadow Blades now. Those would make doing this quite a bit easier, I'll bet...." By the time he had finished with the meat, the fire had risen to a healthy blaze. A sharp branch turned out to be a servicable roasting skewer when held up by a pair of rocks on either side of the fire. About twenty minutes later, Proto eyed the meat and pronounced it edible. "I'm no cook, but that shouldn't kill her, at least. Once it's cooled off, anyways." He doused the fire with some snow and packed the meat in more of it, making sure that the frost used for that was clean. The girl had managed to drop off, so Proto had nothing else of importance to do until the blizzard had blown over except guard duty, and he could take a break from that for one minute. Sighing, he leaned against a wall and checked his energy levels for the what must have been the thirtieth time that day. And they still didn't look good.

"Forty-four percent is not enough to stop an onslaught…" He blinked. His vocal processor had slurred the last word. That wasn't a good sign at ALL. Rationally, he would have tried to rest for a while himself, to give his systems time to catch up with the immense drain he was placing on them with everything he did. Of course, rationality also told him that would likely be suicide, both for himself and the girl; ever since the breakout, they hadn't been given a moment's peace. That kind of tended to not help matters, and it showed no signs of changing any time soon. When he wasn't trying to find enough caverns to keep the girl safe from the constant raging blizzards of the Siberian wilderness, he had to face off robotic hordes that had been sent out to bring them back. Most of the time, it was just mindless drones sent on attack paths. Not too tough. But from time to time, a Robot Master like Magnet Man would make an appearance. He dealt with them, but each one was harder. And it didn't help matters that every day they stayed out here, the girl's condition got worse and worse.

She was avoiding frostbite, Proto Man thanked whatever gods there were once more. Her mittens, her hat, her boots, her coat... all her clothes were all designed to withstand the Siberian winter, and if the robots had done one thing right, they had let her keep those. No, cold wasn't the problem with the girl. It was overheating. Untold and unknown sickness ran rampant through her weak body, thanks to the deplorable conditions of her cell, driving her body temperature up and up in an attempt to kill the viral hordes. And yet that seemingly lifesaving measure would destroy her just as easily... probably easier, if they didn't make it through to their destination in time. For the moment, at least, she was sleeping. Proto Man moved over to her and held his hand over her forehead to try and help, if even a little, with the problem. Her eyes drew tighter in on themselves, and she moaned a little, most likely stuck in a nightmare worse than her current life... but she didn't wake up. Slowly, the heat was drained out of her and into his fingers, decreasing the pain, if only marginally. Cold compresses he didn't have, and plain snow was no substitute. But an icy hand of metal and synthskin he did have... that would have to do for now.

"Don't wake up... you have to stay put for a while, all right?" Sighing, Protoman gave the girl's hair one final stroke, then turned about and walked out of the alcove he'd blasted open to stand guard. He'd barely stepped outside and into the high-winded, snow-filled air when something sharp came whistling by and embedded itself in the rock next to his head. "HEY!" Now justifiably pissed, Protoman ducked low under his Protoshield and scooted off into the blizzard to avoid another shot. But his wandering eyes beneath the shades were watching the cave at all times, and they saw what had almost crushed his skull in. And it wasn't good.

A four pointed throwing star. As big as his head. And then, the snowfall stopped. And Proto Man, staying behind his shield, stared out through the vision slot and grimly recognized his opponent.

"Shadow Man." Proto spat out.

"A freight elevator?" Mega Man mused over the only apparent way into Drill Man's mine. "Hmph... I just hope it's not booby-trapped." Stepping on, he signalled for it to go down. Fortunately, the ride was completely uneventful, and once at the bottom, he stepped out into the dark, dirty depths... only to recieve a ladybug-robot in the face. Snarling, he destroyed it. "Cheap shot. Hmm... the dirt seems to have a reddish tinge... is that natural? If so, it's wierd... or maybe it's just an effect of the lighting. Ah well, better think on more important things..." The initial passageway was staffed with a one-two combination of flying ladybugs and hard-hat Metools, which was easily taken care of by simpy approaching each enemy one at a time. Climbing up to the next floor, however, yielded a huge, dangerous road paving robot that took Mega by surprise. Before his blasts could punch through its heavy armor, the enemy robot had smashed into him, doing heavy damage even as it was destroyed.

"I suppose I should consider myself lucky it didn't jump ON me..." Mega muttered as he climbed further. "That probably would have taken at least half my energy off at the very least, instead of a quarter." More ladybugs and Metools provided enough energy capsules to replenish most of what he had lost before the blue hero dropped down to a series of spike-lined floors heading downward. The difficulty of jumping from small spots of safety was not helped by the infestation of Battontons, but he made it through... to a tunnel with spikes on both the ceiling AND floor. Mega looked skyward and spread his arms in supplication.

"Why, oh why can I NEVER catch a break? Did I offend some god or something?" Sighing, he crawled through it across safe-spot stepping stones and climbed up. A series of nastily placed and shielded plasma cannons on the floors above yielded a second E-Tank on a high-up ledge. "Bonus! Time to try this out in the field..." Pulling out his new Wire utility, Mega fired it upward and attached it to the ceiling near the ledge. The metal claw dug into the earth and retracted itself, pulling Mega upward to the prize. Pocketing it, he went on into the tunnels. The next fun obstacle was a bunch of metal chutes in the ceiling. Looking up into one to try and figure it out, Mega recieved a large rock in the face for his efforts. "OW! Okay, that's not even funny." Something else moved at the corner of his eye, and he trained his buster on it. It turned out to be a small, self-spinning helicopter robot with huge eyes. It was cute. Then it landed on the ground and started spitting plasma. Cursing, Mega blew it away with a charged shot.

"Looks can be deceiving, I guess..." He frowned at a place ahead where the ground was covered in inky darkness. "What the hell is that? Some kind of holographic projection? Lovely... can't tell what's there... eh?" The blue hero had spotted a large switch set in the wall. Shrugging, he flipped it and watched the hologram dissipate, revealing a narrow bridge of land across a deep pit. He whistled. "Boy, am I glad I didn't try walking across that..." Mega carefully made his way across before continuing on, sliding under falling rocks and blasting propeller-bots. The next hologram, however, was a bit more problematic, as the switch was over the darkened area. "Hmmm... Wire time again." Using the Wire, he swung over to the switch and pulled it before dropping onto the ground safely. The other blackened areas were dealt with similarly. After the last one, one more rock-dumping tube was all that stood between Mega and the metal shutter signifying Drill Man's control center. One slide, and he was through.

"Oy, Driller!" Mega called as he entered. "Where are you? Come out and fight, already!"

"As you insist..." From the ceiling, three metal drills emerged, followed by a red robotic body. Drill Man fell to the ground, shifting around in midair so that he landed on his feet. "I'm right here. You got here faster than I expected..."

"Your little illusions didn't work. Maybe that's the cause of it." Mega informed him. The red Robot Master's eyes widened.

"Not at all? You didn't fall into even one pit?"

"Nope."

"Nuts..." Drill Man frowned. "Looks like I wasted a lot of time digging the mazes under there, then. Phooey."

"One question first... well, two." Mega amended. "First, where are the hostages. And second, where's the black Energen Crystal?"

"The hostages are in a room behind this one." Drill Man answered. "They are unharmed; I have several Helipon robots guarding them that will shut down with my death. The black Energen Crystal is in the same room. Well, now that all the pleasantries have been taken care of, shall we get on with this?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself!" Mega smiled as he fired off a charged shot. Drill Man, however, immediately leaped up and flipped so that he was doing a handstand of sorts, then burrowed into the ground, the plasma blast passing above him harmlessly into a wall. The blue hero glared around at the ground. "All right, where are you, you little... ah!" He dived away as Drill Man suddenly erupted out of the ground right where Mega had been standing.

"Right here!" He immediately submerged again.

"Cute trick..." Mega growled. "But I'm putting an end to it right now! Dodge THIS!" Turning green, he launched a pod of Rain Flush, which he had recieved from Toad Man. The acid poured down hitting everything except Mega, who was protected from it's effects. From the ground, some mild curses ensued.

"Dammit... that hurt, I'll give you that. However-!" Drill Man sprang upwards again, sending Mega flying. "The earth protects me from the brunt of the acid! You'll run out of power to that weapon before you can do me significant damage with it!" He vanished into the ground again.

"He's right..." Mega realized. "How about this, then?" Activating the Skull Barrier, he waited for Drill Man's attack. However, the red Robot Master was unfazed, coming back up a short distance away.

"No biggie, boy... eat bomb!" He pointed his drill-head arms, and Mega realized too late as they detached and flew out... they were bombs! The explosion not only wiped out the Skull Barrier, but plastered him against the wall. Laughing, Drill Man fired two more before submerging.

"Looks like you're in trouble, Mega Man! No weapons that can get me down here and be effective at the same time!" Mega blinked, then smiled grimly.

"Sorry... wrong." Armor becoming navy-blue and white, the hero released a Dive Missile, which immediately tracked Drill Man. Mega waited a few seconds, then slid out of the way. As Drill Man burst forth, the Missile exploded in his face, and Drill Man went head over heels.

"HEY! You can't DO that!"

"Watch me." Mega laughed as he unloaded more salvoes of the Missiles. Growling, Drill Man responded with Drill Bombs, but Mega jumped them and kept firing. Now fearing for his life, the tunneling Robot Master went to earth once more. Unfortunately, he forgot to collapse the hole behind him, which Mega fired the rest of his Dive Missiles into. Explosions were heard, and then... silence. Nothing more. Drill Man did not come back up. Dropping into the hole, Mega confirmed his suspicions by finding his enemy's corpse. He had to drag it back up above ground before he could rummage through it and find the weapons chip to add to his repertroire.

"The Drill Bomb... this should come in handy. But for now, that black Energen Crystal-and those-hostages-are calling me." He sighed. "Sometimes, a robot's work is never done."


	11. Chapter 10: A Bright Outlook

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Chapter 10: A Bright Outlook

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"Oh, sure. You're the fastest of us, I'll give you that. But that's not everything, Quick Man. One blast of MY specialty will stop you in your tracks, and then you're at my mercy. You might want to think about that a bit." -Robot Master Flash Man, during the Second Robot Rebellion

"Got any... threes, Elias?" Bright Man asked cheerfully. The former head of the Rio De Janiero power plant shook his head.

"Go fish, I'm afraid. Any Kings, Carl?"

"Frackit! I'm out." The burly man groaned, forking over his last card. Kelly, the only female playing, thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Got any... fives, Bright?" The three humans all waited on the Robot Master's response. He was still smiling.

"Go fish."

"Nuts!" Kelly drew a card, and for a split-second her face fell before she fixed it. Unfortunately, this was not lost on Bright Man.

"Hmm... I don't suppose YOU have any threes now, Kelly?" She simply nodded dismally and gave him her card, completing his set and emptying his hand. "YES! Looks like I win this time, boys and girls!"

"Good job, Bright." Elias congratulated his captor. "Shall I shuffle and deal again, everybody?" All three nodded.

"Please do. I would shuffle myself, but... you know." Bright Man shrugged sheepishly. Elias nodded as he began to work with the cards.

"I still find that a little hard to understand, you know. Humanity's greatest technological accomplishment to date, and you can't shuffle a deck of cards. You're different enough from what all of us thought Robot Masters would be like as it is, you know..."

"Computers have been programmed to play card games ever since the late twentieth century, you know." Bright Man reminded them. Carl chuckled.

"Yeah, but not like this."

"It's not so much that you CAN play cards, as that you WANT to, Bright Man." Kelly explained. "That's got nothing to do with your programmed instructions, and yet you do it anyway. Why?"

"Well... it's complicated." He thought for a moment as to how best explain it. "Really, it's a combination of several things. First, I was designed to emulate a rather cheerful personality. Second, while Doctor Cossack removed the three Rules of Robotics from my programming, he did instrust me not to make your situation as hostages any worse than it has to be. This is a logical extension of that. Third, there is nothing else for me to do at this moment, and this is more... I believe the word is interesting... than just going over my own subroutines."

"You mean just sitting there and thinking?" Elias started dealing out the cards. Bright Man shrugged.

"You say potato, I say potahto." He turned around and blinked as a squat green robot approached. "Yes? What is it?"

"There is an incoming call from Doctor Cossack." The Dawnpon-type robot told him. Bright Man frowned.

"Right now? Oh, drat. Sorry, folks, but I'm afraid the card game's going to have to be postponed."

"Hey, that's okay." Carl waved him off. "We know what your real purpose here is. Go talk with the man, we can wait."   
"Thanks." Bright Man smiled again as he followed the Dawnpon back to his control room. Dr. Cossack's face was already onscreen as he walked in.

"Bright Man, where were you? This is no time to be goofing off!"

"Apologies, Doctor. I was playing cards with some of the hostages, as there seemed to be nothing better to do." The round Robot Master explained.

"You were playing-" Doctor Cossack started to yell, but stopped himself. "Never mind. The point is, right now we've got more important things going on than playing cards, Bright Man. Drill Man has just been killed. You and Pharoah Man are the only ones left now." Bright Man nodded.

"I realize this. And this situation is made worse by the fact that Mega Man controls Toad Man's Rain Flush. As you know..."

"Yes, yes. Your structure cannot stand up very well to an acid bath." Dr. Cossack confirmed. "I don't mean to insult you, Bright Man, but we both know that at this time, Pharoah Man has a better chance of defeating Mega Man than you do. He is simply the more powerful model."

"I understand that, Doctor." The orange Robot Master agreed. "However... Pharoah Man's location also has the Balloon Utility. If Mega Man goes there first, gets his hands on it and makes it out alive, then a great deal of my setup here would become basically useless."

"True..." Dr. Cossack sighed. "But still. I maintain that it would be better for all of us if he attempted to fight Pharoah Man now. As for the Balloon... I'll call the Lights again. Maybe I can use that to my advantage with the right wording, like I did with those Energen Crystals... Ring Man almost won."

"Hey, it's worth a shot, at least." Bright Man affirmed cheerfully. "Still... I'll stop playing cards and start keeping a full-time watch on my robots and defenses, in case he does come here after all. Better safe than sorry... one of the hostages told me that one." Dr. Cossack chuckled.

"It's good advice. Be careful, Bright. I've lost too many of you already... you and Pharoah Man are all that keeps this Rebellion going... and that, in turn, is all that keeps..." He sighed, eyes closing. "Well... you know." Bright Man nodded solemly, all traces of jocularity gone.

"I know, Doctor. It will be okay... everything will come out okay in the end." Cossack opened his eyes.

"I wish I could be as optimistic about it as you... I'm afraid I am much more concerned about the end result of this."

"You were the one who programmed my optimism." The orange Robot Master reminded him.

"True, once again... that's twice you've gotten the better of me." Dr. Cossack smiled for only a moment. "At any rate... I'm going to let you go now and make that call to the Lights, Bright. Keep doing your job."

"Until my dying breath, Doctor... even though I don't breathe." Bright Man saluted sharply. Dr. Cossack nodded in farewell before the connection blinked out. "Well, then... I should get busy..."

"Yawn... morning, sis." Rock greeted Roll as he rose from stasis. "Any explosions while I was out?"

"Not particularly." Roll was turned away, working on a computer. "Aside from all your Master Weapons, that is. Dad accidentally poured motor oil into them. Sorry about that."

"Har. Har. Har." Rock jumped out off his capsule. "You need coffee. That, and the ability to process it. But caffiene would help your attitude a great deal, missy. And you know it." His sister rolled her eyes.

"The modifications would be more trouble than they'd be worth. And speaking of such things, keep in mind that me and dad are responsible for fixing you and Rush up after each fight, brother mine."

"Point duly noted." Rock looked out a window. "Lovely morning. Pity I can't stick around to enjoy it... and about Rush. Where is he?" A moment later, he was answered by recieving a rocket-powered package of red-furred canine happiness in the face. Dr. Light laughed as he watched his younger robotic son being assaulted by a series of vigorous face-lickings.

"Right there, Rock. The black Energen Crystal replacement was one hundred percent successful. Rush seems happy to have his Jet mode back, don't you agree?" Rock pushed the dog off.

"Yeah, you could say that. Under that same line of thinking, you could say that the Pacific Ocean seems to have a lot of water in it." He blinked. "Wait... I just realized something. I didn't see Eddie at all in Drill Man's place... where was he?" Upon hearing this, both Roll and Dr. Light's faces turned downcast. Rock noticed this immediately. "What... is it?"

"He did go to Drill Man's, Rock." Dr. Light finally said. "But before he could meet up with you... he took a plasma shot." Rock's eyes widened.

"Oh, hell... is he...?"

"He'll be okay... eventually." Roll reassured him. "The shot didn't burn away anything vital. Still, it's pretty deep; it will take a while to repair. We should have upgraded his durability before now, damn it..."

"Well, now's the time to take care of that." Her brother declared firmly. "After he's completely repaired, juice up his defenses right away. I don't want him going out again unless he can take a stray shot or two, you understand me?" Roll and Dr. Light both nodded solemnly. "Good. Now, then. Who to go after next, Bright Man or Pharoah Man.... decisions, decisions..."

"Better put that thought on standby, bro." Roll suddenly recommended. "We've got an incoming call."

"Let me guess. Cossack?" Rock guessed grimly, shifting into his armor. Roll nodded.

"Got it in one. Shall I put him on?"

"Yeah... I was wondering when he was going to make another one to open his mouth again." Mega looked at the vidphone as the familiar face of the Russian doctor appeared, smirking as usual.

"Hello again, Mega Man. Roll, Tom. I just thought I would say hi.... it's been a while. I trust you are enjoying the Rebellion, Mega Man? My Robot Masters put so much effort into it..."

"Save it." Mega growled. "I'm not in a particularly good mood right now; one of your robots hurt a good friend of mine."

"Oh, what a shame!" Dr. Cossack's hands flew to his face in mock chagrin. "One of your friends being hurt... why, I can't imagine what that must feel like..." He dropped his hands and shifted his expression to an angry glare. "Oh, wait... yes, I can... from when you killed my Robot Masters!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Mega waved a hand dismissively. "They were bad guys, I'm the good guy, we had to fight. It's a pretty simple concept. Was there a particular reason for this call, or did you just want to debate morality?"

"Oh, there is a point." Cossack assured him. "I heard that you acquired the Wire utility from Dive Man's old ship... it is a rather handy little invention, isn't it? I'm quite proud of it..."

"Skip to the point."

"My, aren't we gruff." Cossack chuckled, amused. "Well... to be direct, there is another utility, much like the Wire, built by me to work with a Variable Weapons System. I call it the Balloon utility."

"And this marvelous utility can be yours for the low, low cost of ninety-nine ninety-nine! Call 1-800-COSSACK! Order now!" Mega imitated a buffoonish infomercial salesman. "Could it be, doctor, that this 'Balloon' is at one of the two remaining locales under your Robot Masters' control?"

"Sharp deduction, my robotic friend." Dr. Cossack sneered. "You are correct. The Balloon is being held at Pharoah Man's domain, in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings. If you want it, go there."

"All right. Recommendation duly noted." Mega glared back. "Now, is that all you have to say?"

"It is for now. However, if, and that's a very big if, you manage to destroy both Bright Man and Pharoah Man, I'll be calling you again for another chit-chat about our future. I'll see you later, or I'll see you in hell, kid!" Laughing loudly and mockingly, the Russian doctor killed the connection. Roll grunted and moved away from her computer, looking at Mega.

"So. The Balloon's at Pharoah Man's... which one are you going to first, then?" Mega smiled at her.

"Well, after going over this logically... I've decided on... Bright Man first, then Pharoah Man."

"Ah, good. My thoughts exactly. See, you can improve in time, bro." Dr. Light just blinked.

"Um... mind explaining your logic there?"

"It's quite simple, really." Roll told him. "Last time Cossack made a call, it was about Energen Crystals at Toad's and Drill's. Those two were probably the weakest of the five remaining at the time, so the whole point was that Mega would THINK the Crystals were a trap and avoid them... falling into the REAL trap of fighting Ring Man, who was quite tough. This time, the Balloon's at Pharoah Man's. If Cossack was pulling the same trick, it would be best to go for Pharoah and call his bluff. However, Cossack is not stupid. He won't pull the same trick twice. Thus, Bright Man is the better choice." Dr. Light just scratched his head.

"Well, if you say so... you're the ones with the computer brains, after all. Leaving now, Rock?" Mega nodded, calling Rush over.

"The sooner I get this over with, the better..."

"Looks like all the lights are still on, at least..." Were Mega Man's first words upon arriving in the power plant. He chuckled at his own words a moment later. "Duh. This IS Bright Man, after all. Concentrate, Mega. No use having your head stuck in the clouds... you got work to do." A squat green robot with a pipe on top of its head waddled towards him, and Mega shot it. As it died, the pipe fired a flare into the air which exploded in a flash of light, but didn't do much else. The blue hero blinked. "I wonder what that was all about..." Shrugging, he went on. The next foe to cross his path was a globular robot modeled after a firefly, with a bright bulb on its underside. Like the first, it did something when blasted, but this time much more nasty; all the lights turned out, leaving Mega in complete darkness. Trying out a few interesting words he had learned from Blues, he stumbled onward, groping blindly.

"How the hell... blasted things must have originally been made to control power here... but how do I turn it back on?" Something smashed into him in the dark, causing the blue hero to fall down and get trampled by whatever it is. Now quite irritated, he blew the unknown attacker away with a charged shot, then winced as the bright light of the flare hit his optics, followed by the rest of the lights turning back on. "Oh... that's how. Those two types must be designed to work together... fireflies lessen the power, flare-heads increase it. I think I've heard of these models before... 100-Wattons and Dawnpons. Seems like an overly complicated design to me, but I'm a robot, not a robotocist." Unfortunately, as it turned out, Bright Man had made some modifications. The flare-headed Dawnpons were mostly harmless, their only method of attack physical contact, but the 100-Wattons, when ignored, would drop a glowing chunk of metal which promptly exploded into shrapnel that went everywhere. More than once, Mega had to grit his teeth and force his own arm down seconds before it released a plasma blast that would kill a Watton and turn out the lights. Suicidal thanks to all the pits around. Finally, though, he made it through to a different area. Here, the entire floor was covered with deadly spikes wall-to-wall for a stretch of about fifty feet. Disposing of an annoying sentry designed like a native american totem pole that had a cannon in each of its four heads, Mega found a grasshopper robot the size of a horse waiting for him. It made no moves to attack, simply watching him as he approached, making a friendly chirping noise.

"What's with this guy?" Mega muttered. The grasshopper waited patiently, and for the first time he noticed it had a sort of platform built onto its back. "Am I supposed to ride this thing across the spikes, or something?" Shrugging, he jumped on. Immediately, the grasshopper launched itself forward in a powerful jump. Mega hung on for dear life as it came close to colliding with another totem pole, then turned around at the last moment and went back the way it came. The blue hero groaned resignedly. "Looks like I'll have to take it out before I can go on..." Several missed charged shots later, he was able to wipe out the totem pole, and the grasshopper happily delivered him to the other side. Mega woozily climbed off. "Sorry, pal, but you're not getting a tip for that ride..." Climbing up a ladder, he found that the next thing he had to tackle was basically a giant killer lottery ball machine that not only launched bombs from its "tumbler," but also had a plasma cannon built into the front. And it was heavily armored. THAT spot of trouble knocked off a good twenty percent of his energy. A few dropping spinning cocoon robots on the next floor later, the blue hero emerged into a hall that split two ways. The straight wall went ahead, but a ladder led downwards.

"Hmm... the straight path or a detour. Better go low, I suppose." Climbing down the ladder, he found himself in a kind of basement. It was only dimly lit, but in the dark he was able to make out a great deal of large and complicated-looking machinery along the sides of the passage, with many thick tubes and connections going into all the walls. "This seems important... if I blasted it, it might bring everything here down." He levelled his buster at it for a moment, then sighed. "Can't risk it. No telling what else will come down with it... might as well go on.... oy." Large sections of the floor had been gouged out, leaving deep, wide holes. The only way across was a red mobile platform set on one end of a semicircular track. "This looks even worse than the grasshoppers... no helping it, I guess. Tallyho!" Leaping on, he assumed a surfer's position as his ride coasted down the track and up the other side... and off into space. Yelling, he was barely able to jump off and clamber onto another one before he would have plummeted into the void along with the first. And the second one behaved exactly the same. Two more close escapes later, the blue hero finally landed on a green one at the other end of the basement that stayed on the track. From there, it was an easy leap back on to solid ground. He took a moment to regain his senses before looking ahead. The bad news was it was a dead end. The good news was it had a single E-Tank waiting as a prize.

"I don't think this was exactly worth it..." He muttered, grabbing the item before turning around. All the tracks were vacant. "Um... how do I get back?" Mega thought for a moment before smacking himself in the head. "DUH! Geez, I must have taken my stupid pills today... yo, Rush!"

"Ruff!" Barking once, Rush teleported in and looked at his master quizzically, asking which form to take.

"Let's try out your Jet mode!" Rush smiled; that had been his favorite before. Hunkering down, the robotic dog's body converted into a jetboard. Mega jumped on and rode easily back over to the basement entrance. "Looks like this works perfectly too, boy. Too bad we had to wait so long before getting it, but oh well, right?" Rush barked again in agreement as he teleported away again and Mega climbed back up to the main floor. More grasshoppers on spikes awaited. Mega smiled. "Sorry, boys, but I think I'll ride the friendly skies this time around... sound good to you, Rush?" Rush returned and eagerly carried his master over spikes, grasshoppers and totem poles alike without any trouble whatsoever. At the end of the ride, though, he was panting heavily. Mega was quick to notice this. "Getting tired, boy?"

"Arf..."

"Awright, then. You go back home and rest, okay? I think I can handle the rest of this myself. And if Eddie's back up, say hi to him for me." Rush barked one more time and left. Mega climbed another floor, slid through a low pipe, and went up again to the top floor. At the far end of another hall was... well, it was too dimly lit to see. But there was an excellent chance that the usual metal shutter, Bright Man and the hostages were all back there, in that order. Mega looked closer and winced. The entire floor was missing, set up with more half-track platforms. "Aich... I should have just taken the grasshoppers and had Rush help me across here. Well, no use crying over spilt milk, or however that saying goes..." He jumped on one and began riding across. "Hey, at least it can't get any worse... god damn it all." He glared at the approaching 100-Watton firefly-bot, even as it dropped another shining shrapnel bomb. "I should have listened to Blues when he told me to NEVER say that..."

"Good morning, Doctor Cossack." The computer greeted its master with preprogrammed words. "Did you sleep well?"

"No, computer. I did not." The Russian doctor had seen better days by almost anybody's standards. His beard was scraggly and untrimmed, his glasses were tilted askew and his lab coat was dirty and stained. He looked exhausted, even though he had just slept for twelve hours. "That nightmare came back again... it never leaves me. I don't think it ever will..."

"Perhaps not." The computer responded dully. "I am only a machine, doctor. I possess no knowledge of such things, even to a limited degree like your Robot Masters. I simply carry out functions."

"True, true..." Cossack sighed. "Very well. Computer, have one of the robots bring me up some hot coffee... I'm going to need it. Might as well have some breakfast made too, I suppose."

"Acknowledged."

"All right then... now, which of the remaining attack sites did Mega Man go to this time?"

"Bright Man's domain, in the Rio De Janiero power plant."

"Damn it ALL!" Cossack went on to yell some more severe curses in his native tongue, slamming his fists into the walls as he did. After that, he took a few minutes to calm down, beathing heavily. "All right... easy. No sense in getting worked up... that won't do anything. Need to concentrate... think calmly." He sat down in his chair in front of the computer. "Very well. Assume the worst... that Bright Man will be killed, and Pharoah Man after him. Computer, when will that coffee be arriving?"

"About five minutes, doctor."

"All right..." The russian doctor slumped in his chair, brooding over his thoughts while he waited. This was not the first time he had been dragged down with his own dark thoughts for extended periods of time. More than once, Dr. Cossack had regretted starting this Rebellion in the first place. It had not gone at all like he had thought it would; by his calculations, his superior Robot Masters should have triumphed over Mega Man early on. But instead, Mega Man had defeated one... then two, then four, then six. Now, only Bright Man and Pharoah Man remained... and it was doubtful that they would be able to succeed where the other had all failed. Within half a week more, all the hostages would be freed, and Dr. Cossack knew what would happen then. The robotic "hero" in blue armor would come marching inexorably into his castle, leaving nothing but destruction in his wake. If Mega Man got to Cossack... then... the Rebellion would be a failure. Dr. Cossack's eyes glinted at this thought. No, that could not happen. The Rebellion MUST not be a failure... there was too much riding on it for him to even conceive of that possibility. More than Mega Man could ever know... and for all of that, for everything behind the Rebellion, Mega Man had to die. Neither he nor Cossack had any choice in the matter... this had gone beyond them. It was down to... Dr. Cossack broke off his thoughts as the door behind him opened. A Skeleton Joe with a large mug of coffee in one hand and a plate loaded with food in the other walked into the control chamber.

"As you ordered, Doctor."

"Thank you. Return to your post." The Russian doctor took the delivery and watched the robot walk away to follow his orders. Taking a deep swig of the caffiene, he set both down on a desk before turning back to the computer. Time to prepare for the coming assault. "Computer, report the general status of all four Rings."

"The first ring is on full alert, as always... nothing of importance has happened since you last checked, doctor. It seems everybody who would consider attacking remains quiet so far. The second ring had a little accident three hours ago..."

"An accident?!" Cossack leapt to his feet. "What the hell do you mean, an accident?!"

"A malfunctioning Dokuron crashed into a wall and self-destructed, taking out a portion of it. Repair robots are already fixing the problem... it should be completely sealed before the day is out."

"Hmph... good. Even if it takes longer than expected, it'll be taken care of before Mega Man gets here... just make sure that does NOT happen again, computer. Otherwise, it could jeopardize the entire defense setup. Continue with your report. How are the third and fourth rings?"

"Third ring is doing well... no real difficulties." The computer resumed talking about the four rings of the castle defense as if there had been no interruption. "The only aberration was three hours and forty-one minutes ago, when a patrol robot accidentally slipped on some melted snow and went over the walltop. It was destroyed, but its replacement was sent out immediately. As for the Fourth Ring... there have been no occurances out of the ordinary whatsoever, aside from that Skeleton Joe bringing your order up. It is back at its sentry position already, by the way."

"Good." Cossack bit into a sausage. "All right, computer. The moment Mega Man departs for Pharoah Man's domain, I want this to be done. Bring up ALL the robots in the fortress, every single one. Even the reserves. Assign them all to the most logical guard positions, then put each and every one of them in all the Rings on full alert. I don't want a FLY to get in here without being shot down, do you understand me? Complete and total lockdown." The computer hummed.

"Understood. Instructions stored and ready to be initialized once the event has occured." The Russian doctor nodded and took another drink of coffee before speaking again.

"Very good. Now then, I want you to bring up the schematics for all of my Fortress Guardians."

"Done." On the main screen, four diagrams appeared, each showing the internal workings of a massive robotic monstrosity. These were not Robot Masters... they did not possess complicated brain workings or humanlike structure. No, they were just robots... but what they lacked in sophistication, they made up for in raw power. Fortress Guardians had been used in the days of Dr. Albert Wily's Robot Rebellions in his Skull Fortresses, and despite how much Cossack loathed following that man's example, it was the choice of wisdom. At the end of each defense ring, a Fortress Guardian would be waiting for Mega Man, and destroying it would be the only way the blue robot would be able to continue onward. A huge, flying moth with a drill-like tail... a block the size of a room that could split into three portions, each capable of crushing a mack truck with its force times mass... and two insectlike wall-crawlers with multiple plasma cannons, some of them more powerful than even one of Mega Man's charged shots. Dr. Cossack didn't much like such things designed solely for the purpose of destruction, but they were a neccessary evil. And they all seemed to be in perfect working condition as well, so that was something good, at least. The Russian doctor finished eating his breakfast as he went over the schematics carefully to be certain. Everything seemed fine.

"All right. Computer, put the Fortress Guardians on full alert as well... oh, and make sure no guard robots enter those rooms and get themselves blown up, all right? No point in wasting them." Dr. Cossack leaned back and steepled his hands, sighing. "Well, at least if Mega Man comes, we'll be prepared for him in full. I've done all I can... it's down to fate now."

"Oh, hello, Mega Man. Please, come in." Bright Man greeted his opponent cheerfully. "Your armor... it's red and grey. I'm guessing you have Drill Man's weapon equipped?"

"Correct-a-mundo." Mega pointed his buster directly at Bright Man. "The Drill Bomb. Want some?"

"Oh, by all means, go ahead." Bright Man chuckled. "I'll tell you now, though, it won't do you much good. My frame is designed so that it's very explosive-resistant. You'll have to use something different to beat me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Mega growled. "One other thing, though, first. The usual question. Hostages?"

"Also as usual, in a room behind this one." Bright Man countered. "It used to be an employee lounge, I believe; beyond this point, I haven't done any-ah, shall we say-remodeling."

"No guards or anything at all?" Mega asked, obviously taken aback. The orange Robot Master shook his head, still smiling.

"None. The honor system's worked for me. They've all been pretty good about the situation, really. Any more questions, or shall we get started? No sense putting it off and all that, right?"

"Couldn't have said it any better myself, buddy!" Mega grunted, firing off a Drill Bomb. Bright Man stood his ground, taking it full in the chest, and suffering little damage before launching himself into the air to try and crush Mega.

"I hate to say I told you so, but..."

"Skip it!" Mega snapped, sliding out from under Bright Man's weight. _Rats. If the Drill Bomb didn't do squat, doubtful the Dive Missile will, either... it might seek out his weak points, but the minimal damage wouldn't be worth it._ "All right then, let's switch to an old favorite!" Turning grey and white, he lobbed a clod of the Dust Crusher. Bright Man grunted as his bulb took the hit, but didn't falter.

"I'll admit, that one hurt... but it's not enough! I'm afraid it's time to excise your eyes!" For a brief second, Mega saw the humongous bulb on top of his head glow. And then, everything that he saw was screaming blistering burning bright white light pain. Howling words that would have made Dr Light blanch, he fell over clutching at his fried optics. Bright Man chuckled. "That's MY signature weapon, friend. The Flash Stopper. It's a flash, and it stops you; get it? Oh, don't worry, it's not permanent. You should start to recover in about fifteen seconds. However, I'm afraid I can't just sit here and let you scream." Changing his left arm into a plasma cannon, he launched several bullets at Mega. Rather pissed at this point, the hero climbed to his feet.

"Try some of THIS, you lunatic!" Forming a Ring Boomerang, he expertly threw it... in the wrong direction. Bright Man started laughing uncontrollably.

"Ha ha ha ha ha-you need to work on your aim, Mega Man-ha ha haOW!!" The round Robot Master stared down at the opened cut on his arm. Mega seemed to have stolen his smile.

"I traced the sound of your voice. Eyes aren't everything, you know."

"Very good..." Bright Man smiled once again. "But I know better now! Time for me to play the silent game!" Flashing his bulb again, he followed it up with more plasma shots, further hurting Mega.

_This... is a problem._ He thought. _I can't even hit him with my strongest weapons... dammit, I wish there was some way to attack... without needing... to aim..._ Without a word, his colors changed to green and white, and he launched a pod into the air. Bright Man watched it go.

"Eh? That looks oddly familiar-ARGH!!!!!" Upon hitting the ceiling, the Rain Flush pod had exploded into a rain of acid that washed over the entire room. Mega Man had gotten an immunity to the compound along with the color change when he used that weapon, but Bright Man was not so lucky. He rolled on the ground, hissing sounds coming from all over his armor. Mega Man immediately fired off another, and then another once that one was finished. Each time poor Bright Man tried to struggle back to his feet, the next wash of acid knocked him back down. Finally, the bulb on his head broke. Mega walked over to the defeated Robot Master.

"So... I have fallen as well." Bright Man groaned without looking up. "That is the way it goes, I suppose... finish it, then." Mega nodded once and ended it with one charged shot between the eyes before taking the Weapons Chip. Taking its power, he looked at his reflection in a screen. Purple armor for the Flash Stopper.

"It'll do." Opening the door behind the control room, he soon found the hostages. A large man with curly black hair greeted him.

"You would be Mega Man... I'm Elias Salguerdo, the manager of this place. I... assume that you killed Bright Man?"

"I'm afraid so." Mega nodded. "Why...?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Another man sighed. "It's just that... he didn't seem like a bad sort, for a Rebellion Robot Master."

"He may well have been." Mega agreed shortly. "But it wasn't really his fault. Cossack is the one who's really to blame... not Bright Man, or any of them. They were just pawns in his game."

"Pretty sick game, if you ask me." A man in a security officer's uniform grunted. Mega nodded in agreement.

"I'm not a fan of it either. It'll be over soon, though... just one more Robot Master left, and then I can take it to Cossack himself."


	12. Chapter 11: Duel In The Desert

**__**

Chapter 11: Duel In The Desert

__

"You realize that this is nothing personal. We have our seperate reasons for following our missions, and both of our reasons are equally important to us. It is simply that our missions conflict, and that is why we must fight. I hold no grudge against you, but I will not go easy on you... to fulfill my duty, I must win." -Colonel of Repliforce to a Maverick Captain, six months before the Fourth Maverick Uprising

"And then there was one." Pharaoh Man muttered to himself as he watched the light on his computer's map signifying Bright Man's location wink out. Only three of the original ten beacons on the world map were still lit... a blue one on Tokyo, a red one signifying Doctor Cossack's castle, and the last yellow one at Pharaoh Man's own location. For a moment, his eyes strayed north of the red light, then he grunted and took the map off the monitor. No point in brooding over such things. What was done was done, and now Pharaoh Man's job was to continue the mission until his own fight with the "blue bomber." With a gold-and-black regal headdress, Pharaoh Man was one of the more intimidating Robot Masters designed by Cossack... and one of the most powerful. And with the fate of the entire Rebellion resting on his shoulders, he was going to need every last ounce of that power to win the fight.

"Dust Man, Skull Man, Dive Man, Ring Man, Toad Man, Drill Man, and Bright Man... you all fell to him, one by one." Pharaoh Man looked over the pictures of his brethren that were now displayed onscreen. "I can not do the same, my brothers. You will be avenged... the doctor's hopes shall be fulfilled... and I will kill Mega Man. I can promise you that much." Turning away from the computer, he left the room and walked down the long stone hallway towards the room where the hostages were being held. Though this hall looked deceptively unguarded, in reality both walls held multiple false portions behind which a Mummira sentry robot watched. None of the hostages had been foolish enough to try and make a break for it so far, a fact for which Pharaoh Man was glad; like the other Robot Masters, he preferred to keep the Rebellion as bloodless as possible. Mega Man notwithstanding, of course.

"Pharaoh Man." One of the captives greeted him, a man in his forties with a thick mustache. "To what do we owe the honor of a personal visit from you? You haven't come by since we were first lodged here."

"I'm here to inform you that you will all be freed very shortly." The golden Robot Master smiled slightly under a half-mask covering his lower face at the surprised looks on all of their faces before continuing. "Mega Man will be coming here soon. He has killed all of the other Robot Masters and released all of their hostages. None have died so far. Let's keep it that way, hmm? Just be patient, and you'll be out of here soon. Don't suddenly start being stupid and try to escape ahead of time."

"May I inquire... as to WHY we are being freed now?" The speaker asked. Pharaoh Man shook his head.

"Silly human, because there would be no POINT in your remaining captive once Mega Man arrives. The moment he sets foot in my domain, a secret exit will open in the back of this room. It will lead you outside to the sands, where you will find vehicles enough to transport you all back to Cairo safely. None of the robots will try to stop you unless you try to return here, which I doubt you will do, as it would be pointless, stupid and suicidal all in one."

"Very well. We shall wait for that." The speaker bowed stiffly. Pharaoh Man returned it and left, returning to his control room.

"The doctor should be calling soon..." He muttered, sitting in his chair. "Might as well get it over with, actually. Computer, connect me to Doctor Cossack's castle. I wish to speak with him."

"Acknowledged. " A few moments passed while the connection was made, and the computer spoke again. "Doctor Cossack is not in his control chamber at the moment. Please wait..." Pharaoh Man blinked.

"Not in...? That is most unusual... nothing to be done for it, though, I suppose." He sat back in his chair and twiddled his thumbs. Several minutes later, Doctor Cossack's face appeared onscreen.

"Pharaoh Man? What's the problem? Is there something going wrong with the hostages?"

"No... no problem." Pharaoh Man shook his head. "It's just that you usually call around this time."

"Oh... oh, yes." Dr. Cossack mumured, sounding distracted. "Sorry, Pharaoh Man... I've been busy setting up the castle in preperation for Mega Man's attack... it's keeping me stretched pretty tight."

"You expect him to defeat me?" Pharaoh Man inquired, raising an eyebrow. Dr. Cossack lowered his eyes.

"Well..."

"You've given up on me, is what you've done." Pharaoh Man said coldly. "You've already put me down as dead."

"Look, Pharaoh Man..." Dr. Cossack passed a hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry... but I don't think you will be able to win. All the other Robot Masters are dead at Mega Man's hands... and though it pains me like you cannot understand to say it, I predict that you will join them soon."

"I am the most powerful of your creations, Doctor." Pharaoh Man reminded him. "Perhaps I shall be able to triumph where the other have failed... it is worth hoping for, anyways."

"I suppose so..." Dr. Cossack sighed. "But... I still do not think that you can triumph."

"With what is at stake, Doctor, how can I _not_ triumph?" Pharoah Man's eyes blazed. "I know more than any of the others what hangs on all of this, doctor... as the saying goes, for me, failure is not an option. Mega Man WILL die here... my losing to him is inconceivable."

"I hope you're right, Pharaoh Man..." Cossack smiled faintly. "You do have spirit... more than any of the others. I will give you that much. I will continue hoping that you are successful."

"That is all I wish." Pharaoh Man bowed to his creator, then saluted. Cossack nodded, an odd look on his face, and returned the salute.

"Very well then. Do your best, Pharaoh Man... fight your best. You are the only one left. _Make me proud_. That is all I can ask of you. Goodbye, Pharaoh Man." The connection died. Pharoah Man just sat there, looking at his own hands, for several minutes afterwards. Finally, he looked up with a sigh.

"Computer, bring up the patrol patterns for all of the robots in this facility... I want to look them over one more time."

"Sergei sure doesn't kid around when he makes his Robot Masters..." Dr. Light observed as he worked on repairing Rock. His robotic daughter rolled her eyes at this statement.

"Um, yeah. Duh, dad. I think that we kinda already knew that before now pretty well..."

"I know, I know." Dr. Light glanced down at Rock' face. "But this was particularly nasty. The Flash Stopper, did he say it was...?"

"That was it, yes." Roll agreed. "And yeah, I know this one hurt. We HAVE just spent the last few hours repairing his optics after the frying they got... if it had been any stronger, we might have had to remove them and give him new ones. Wouldn't THAT be fun. Heh... pity Blues wasn't there. He wouldn't have had any trouble with Bright Man... those oversized shades of his are good for something after all, I suppose. Who'da thought it, eh?"

"Blues did his share of helping out in the Third." The elderly doctor reminded Roll. "Even if he was in that Break Man diguise and fighting Rock half the time. I do have to wonder where he is now, though... it's been two weeks now since he left, and he still hasn't called back or made any kind of contact."

"You know what Blues is like." She sighed. "I don't think he'll ever lose the whole loner thing he picked up from those years in Africa... and he was plenty quirky enough even before that, from what you've told me. He said he was going to go do some spy work... probably still under cover or something. Don't worry too much about Blues... he's a big boy. He can take care of himself. And remember, he did promise that if he got hurt he would come back here."

"What if he's been captured by Sergei while sneaking around?" Dr. Light still appeared worried. Roll shook her head.

"Exceedingly doubtful. If he had been, Cossack would almost definately have bragged about it in one of his calls."

"You have a point there." Dr. Light admitted, setting down his tools. "Well, that should take care of the repairs for now. Let's put Rock's eyelids back on and wake him up." A few minutes later, Rock arose, yawning as usual even though as a robot he felt no need to do so.

"Morning, everybody. I see you managed to completely fix up my eyes from the Flash Stopper. Thanks." His sister smiled evilly.

"Well, sort of. Kind of. In a way. Your eyes were too badly damaged and we had to throw them out, but the green olives we put in as replacements seem to be working great, since you didn't notice."

"You're not going to fool me with any of those, Roll. You never will." Rock rolled his eyes. "Why do you keep trying? You KNOW that it's not going to work... at least I hope you do."

"I enjoy irritating you." She shrugged. "But anyways. Bright Man's down now too... that leaves Pharaoh Man."

"Only one left, yes." Rock agreed somberly. "And if we were right about Cossack's game, he's going to be tough... maybe even tougher than Bright Man and Ring Man were. But I've beaten worse opponents... Pharaoh Man won't be able to stop me. And after he's taken out, all the hostages will be freed, and I'll be able to march on Cossack's castle and take the fight to him personally. And then when I catch him... this Rebellion will finally be over like the ones before it. Like Wily, Dr. Sergei Cossack's name will become a thing of the past, a bogeyman's name to frighten small children, and nothing more. And I can return to my life."

"Yeah... I suppose." Roll frowned. "But what if somebody else starts a Rebellion after Cossack?" Rock winced.

"Well... I suppose I'll have to stop them too, won't I? But I'd really prefer not to think about that right now, sis. I've got enough on my mind dealing with one Rebellion right here as it is." He thought for a moment. "And speaking of things that are on my mind... how's Eddie doing? Has he recovered from that plasma plastering he picked up at Drill Man's?"

"Complete recovery!" Dr. Light assured him. "We fixed him up while you were off fighting Bright Man. It was a bit tricky because of the damage extent, but in the end there was no permanent damage whatsoever."

"Good, good." Rock murmured. "Glad to hear the little guy's okay. Where is he, then?"

"Beep!" The robot boy looked down to see Eddie standing next to the table he was lying on.

"Hey, Ed. Glad to see you're feeling okay now... but I stand by what I said earlier. I still don't want you going out again until your armor's bulked up. I can manage until then, all right?" Eddie nodded.

"Beep beep beep!"

"I suppose I should probably be leaving now, then..." Rock phased into his armor. "Oh... I got the Flash Stopper okay, right?" Roll nodded.

"Yes... although how you're actually going to use it is a mystery to me. I mean, you don't exactly go around sporting a bloated bulb on top of your cranium like Bright Man, now do you?"

"Noooooo..." Mega looked down at his buster. "Beats me. I guess I should probably test it to find out... no other way." Before he could, though, his sister tackled him to the ground.

"Idiot, are you TRYING to blind the rest of us? Don't test it here! Take it into another room!" Mega smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry about that..." Walking out into the hallway, he closed the door of another room after him. A moment later, a flash of light was seen in the crack underneath the door, followed by Mega's reappearance.

"Yeah, it works fine. Apparently, my Variable Weapons System can make the buster emit it."

"But don't you get blinded by the flash too?" Dr. Light inquired. Mega shook his head.

"Nah... kinda an improvement and a bummer at the same time. The flash is only visible when looking in the same direction as my Buster. Harder to hit an enemy with, but better than me blinding myself too."

"As long as it gets the job done, I'd consider it a success." His sister told him. "You heading for Egypt now?"

"Yeah. I've got a date with a Pharaoh... the last of the eight. I just hope that's he's ready... I'm not holding back." Roll raised an eyebrow.

"When do you ever?"

"True."

"The desert at night." Mega Man observed, looking out over the shifting sands. "It has a kind of quiet beauty all its own... but I can't stop to look at the scenery. There's a pharaoh in there I've got an appointment with. Can't be late." Jumping off the large rock he was standing on, the blue hero set off across the sand... and immediately began sinking into it. "Huh?! This isn't supposed to be quicksand!" He spotted a sign.

_Sinking sand courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Pharaoh Man._

"Wiseass..." Mega muttered as he continued on his way, struggling to keep his feet above the ground. "I suppose I should have expected something along these lines... he's had longer to fortify his place than any of the others. At least there's no enemies... aw, hell. I shouldn't have said that." Indeed, at that moment the sand a few feet ahead of him erupted in clouds as a scorpion robot burrowed up and blasted towards him. Mega fired a charged shot, then hurdled with an oath as the robot continued on. As soon as it had gone beyond him, the scorpion disappeared into the sand once more. A few feet more ahead and another type of enemy showed up. Mega heard a buzzing noise and looked upward to see a speedy scarab robot blasting by overhead. He tried to peg it, but the scarab was too fast. Circling him, it proceeded to bomb the blue hero with packets of plasma. There was nothing he could do but dodge them until he got back on stable ground, where he was able to concentrate on figuring out a weapon that could take out the scarabs. The Dive Missile did the job, and he continued onwards. Unfortunately, his momentary success was cancelled out when he returned to the sand and two scorpions came up on either side of him. There wasn't time to hurdle him both, so while he managed to destroy the first before it hit, the other one smashed him from behind and mowed him down before vanishing back into the sand. It took a good five minutes for Mega to extricate himself from the sand, in which he had sunken up to his waist, and repeated visits from the bombing scarabs didn't help. In the end, he set off towards the entrance of Pharoah Man's base in a surly mood with an energy level of 75%. Fortunately, no more enemies got in his way, and he soon made it to the hole in a rocky stretch. "Time to go in... eh?" He saw another sign.

_Balloon Utility this way, _it said on an arrow pointing beyond the entrance off into the sands again. The other arrow, pointing down into the base, was labeled _Pharoah Man, hostages and certain oblivion this way_.

"Somebody's confident." Mega muttered. "I suppose I really should grab that Balloon... it'll likely come in handy." Sighing, he went off across the sands once more. Fortunately, it appeared his irritation sharpened his aim, and he was able to avoid any additional damage from scarabs and scorpions. Before too long, he spotted glowing green light on a pile of rocks, and found a capsule with a "B" marked on it lying there. Opening it with a Ring Boomerang, he found a weapons chip inside the bubble wrap and absorbed it. "All right... now let's see what this does." Firing it, he watched as the matter synthesizer produced a thick balloon with a propeller on the bottom about four feet in diameter. "Hmph... wonder if I can stand on it?" He could. "It's like my old Item-1, then... nifty." He frowned as the propeller suddenly stopped. A moment later, the whole thing crashed back to earth. Muttering a slight oath, Mega picked himself back up. "Well, looks like they don't last long... figures. Still, this should help. And now, back to the mission..." Making his way back to the hole in the rock with no trouble, Mega dropped in. The cavern was not a cavern at all, but a ancient passageway made of stone bricks from centuries gone past. Torches on the wall emitted an eerie blue flame. Mega shivered in spite of himself. This place was spooky.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come at night..." He shook himself. "Get a grip, Mega. The only mummies you'll find down here will be robotic." Blasting ladybug-bots as he went, Mega walked down the passageway. Before long, he came to an intersection; the straight path, or a higher one above that he wasn't able to reach. Mega smiled. "No biggie." Taking out the wire, he pulled himself up to the ceiling and jumped onto the above ledge. As soon as he landed, a portion of the wall swung out, revealing a mummy robot. "Just as I predicted." The mummy immediately grabbed a bandage on its cranium and pulled, launching the laughing head at Mega! Caught by surprise, the blue hero was barely able to dodge. When he looked back, the mummy was gone. "Sonofa... just try that one again, I dare ya..." A moment later, the wall swung back out again, along with the mummy, who had a new head. This time, though, Mega was ready, and destroyed both head and body with one shot of the Drill Bomb. More mummy-bots were dealt with the same way, until he came to the last one. As he prepared to destroy it, Mega's eyes suddenly caught a blue metallic glint from behind the fake wall. "An E-Tank!" Instead of shooting, Mega dodged the head and dived for the revolving wall segment. Just as it began to turn, his hand snaked in, grabbed the E-Tank, and came back out milliseconds before being crushed. Pocketing it, the blue hero went down a level, further into the ancient ruins. The next level down was inhabited by a family of bats, to Mega's chagrin. "Shoo! Shoo! Argh!" Blinking, he spotted a robotic Batton among them and blasted it. "Nice try." When the annoyed avian mammals had dissipated, he saw that the entire floor ahead was covered in spikes. Sitting on the deadly skewers was a robot with a cushioned bottom and a platform on top. Mega groaned. "Aw, no... not this kind of thing again... huh? Another sign..."

_Ride the Hover, if you dare!_ It proclaimed.

"I hate Pharaoh Man." Mega grumbled as he walked towards the robot, whose eyes were closed in apparent slumber. As he approached, though, the Hover's eyes blinked open, and it fired a plasma shot at him. Mega jumped over it and onto the robot. "Figured you'd do something like that. Now, giddyup!" The Hover hummed, then moved forward across the spikes. More Battontons dived down, and several times Mega was forced to switch Hovers, but he made it across the spikes without taking TOO much damage and went down another floor. "How deep does this place go, anyways... aha, here we go." Emerging into one more tunnel, he smiled and sighed at the same time. "Here we go... and oy, this looks fun." By the blue torchlight, he saw a metal shutter at the far end of the tunnel... which was lined with spikes and featuring more Hovers. "Might as well get going..." Jumping on the first one, Mega set off. He immediately saw a problem. The section of floor ended in a pit that the Hover would fall right into! There was another Hover and more spikes on the other side, but a ledge made a low ceiling... too low. He wouldn't be able to make the jump... "Wait... ledge? DUH, idiot." Hitting himself in the head, Mega Wired himself up onto the ledge. "There's going to be a mummy here." There was. "Can I call 'em, or can I call 'em?!" Destroying it, he jumped onto the next Hover and continued. From there, the way was a combination of Hovers, spikes, pits and mummies. Nothing too difficult, but Mega did collect a few hits.

"Well, here I am... let's see how I stand on energy." Mega frowned as he checked his energy readings. "60%... nothing too serious, but still not something I'd really like to be fighting a tough Robot Master on. Now, what was it Blues said to do in situations like this... oh yeah, pack an E-Tank!" Mega grinned. "Stupid me... I forgot, I've got four of them. I'll just use one if this gets too dicey..." The smile disappeared. "But enough of that. Can't let my guard down... it's time to settle this. Here I come, Pharaoh Man."

It was another blizzard in northern Russia. Tons of snow blasted downwards from the heavens with deadly force, burying anything foolish enough to be outside. Well, almost anything. Through the blinding whiteness, a single massive form came plowing through inexorably, stopping for nothing. A hovervehicle, heading south. Inside, on the floor, two forms were lying still.

"Snrrrrx!" Proto Man snored. The small girl lying nearby shifted uneasily, but didn't wake. She had remained mostly asleep for the last few days, while Proto occasionally awoke from stasis in order to scrounge up food and water for her. Those were the only times he had turned the hovervehicle off of autopilot. Fortunately, the craft had good air conditioning, so the girl's temperature had dropped a bit. She was still in very poor health, but at the moment, her life wasn't in immediate danger.

Shadow Man, as it turned out, had actually been a stroke of good luck, not bad. During their fight, Proto had managed to get enough information out of the ninja robot to figure out that he had brought along the hovervehicle in order to take the girl back to her prison alive once he had her. After that, Proto had dispatched Shadow Man by using the colors of the Gemini Beam to let the snow hide him. Another Robot Master, Spark Man, had been guarding the hovervehicle, but by distracting him with the girl, Proto had been able to take off the electrical fool's head with one swipe from the Shadow Blade. The hovervehicle had been a true blessing for the two weary fugitives. Not only did it more than triple their speed, it kept the girl in a relatively safe place and allowed Proto Man to catch up on his own much-needed stasis. Now it was nine days since they had made their escape. Proto Man mumbled in his sleep, dreaming about being back at home with the rest of his family once more.

"Uggh... Roll, what the hell do you think you're doing with that baseball bat... wait... no, no... Eddie, run for your life, I'll try to hold her off... Rush, good, get Eddie out of here... dad, help, Roll's gone nuts... no, don't pick up that golf club, what are you-" Suddenly, there was a horrendously loud explosion from the front of the hovervehicle. All motion stopped, and Proto jerked upright, awake instantly. "What the crap?!" With a fading hum, the entire machine died. Swearing sulferously, Proto Man got to his feet and exited, making sure to seal the door behind him. Once outside in the blizzard, he moved towards the front of the hovervehicle. Something very large and wide was there blocking the way and looking quite pleased about it.

"Huh huh huh... sorry, old buddy. Looks like you ran smack dab into a nasty roadblock." The massive, greyish-blue armored Robot Master chuckled. Proto Man's eyes narrowed in recognition.

"Hard Man."

"Hey hey, hoo hoo, I'm out here too! Whee, yippee, don't forget about me!" Another Robot Master danced out from behind Hard Man. This one was yellow, and it spun around crazily with an insane grin.

"And Top Man... Mr. Insano. Fancy meeting you two here. I should have figured as much... you're the only two from the Third Robot Rebellion I haven't slagged recently." Proto Man pointed his buster at them. "Something thst shall be shortly and easily remedied. Although I had actually figured that once I got into the hovervehicle, you wouldn't be able to move that bulk fast enough to catch up to me if you had a million years in which to do so, Hardy."

"You figured wrong, Break-boy." Hard Man chuckled again. "But while all this beating around the bush may be quite entertaining to you, it's dreadfully boring for me. So why don't we just cut to the chase, hm?"

"Cut to the chase, finish the race, we're both going to break your face!" Top Man laughed. Hard Man decked him.

"You shut up. At any rate, he did kinda get the point right. We're gonna pound you into the ground, little man, and we'll be taking that tiny lump of human back where she belongs."

"The HELL you will!" Proto Man snarled, firing a charged shot into Hard Man's chest. The heavily armored Robot Master just chuckled and fired off his fists in retaliation. The hands flew out towards Proto, who jumped and flipped over them before unleashing another shot. He was immediately hit in the head by three large tops.

"Forget about me, cool cat? Well, I'm hunting big game, and my shotgun's loaded, and so am I!" Top Man flung himself forward across the ground in a spin. Proto Man sidestepped it and blasted him as soon as the spinning fool stopped his motion. Hard Man was now nowhere to be seen.

"Huh... where did he-aw, HELL." Paling, Proto Man dived forward at the last moment as Hard Man smashed into the ground where he had been a moment before. "Phew... almost got me that time, you lug. Heh... almost, but not quite. Good try, though, I'll give you that."

"Thanks... and I'll give you THIS!" Grunting, Hard Man fired his fists off again. Proto Man waited until the last second, then jumped them, and the hands continued on... straight towards Top Man.

"Oh no! Whatever shall I do? Oh, I know!" Snickering, he spinned out of the way quickly. "Nice try, old Breaker, but you'll have to go to sleep a little earlier than that to trick Top Man into tasting a knuckle salad!"

"Hey, it was worth a shot!" Proto Man fired another charged plasma blast into the same spot on Hard Man's chest as the others, deepening the crater. Then, before the huge Robot Master could jump for another head press attempt, Proto jumped up and fired the Gemini Beam straight into the wound.

"No... gah!" Hard Man's eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell back. Proto Man dived out of the way of Top Man's tops.

"You've got one down, but not the clown!"

"We'll just have to see about that then, won't we?" Plunging his hand into Hard Man's corpse, Proto pulled out the weapons chip and absorbed its contents before changing colors. "By the way, it's knuckle SANDWICH, not knuckle salad, you loon." He emphasized the point with a Hard Knuckle that slammed into the dancing Robot Master before exploding, sending him flying into a rock with a sickening thud. Top Man looked heavenward as Proto Man approached.

"Is this the end of zombie Shakespeare?" Another Hard Knuckle finished him. Walking back to the hovervehicle, Proto Man assessed the damage and shook his head angrily

"Dammit, it's trashed. I just hope we're close..." Going back inside, he looked at a map. "Hmm... this was where we were when it died, eh? We're still there... hm. About three days' walk away... not ideal, but I think we can make it." Sighing, he picked the girl up. She stirred.

"Uh... Blues... what?"

"Shh... it's okay. Go back to sleep." He whispered. She complied with another incomprehensible murmur as the red Robot Master stepped out into the snow. He glanced over at Top Man's body, then shook his head violently and began to walk off towards their destination.

"Not if it was the last Master Weapon on earth..."

"Here you are... and here I am." Were Pharaoh Man's words of greeting when Mega Man entered his room. The blue hero raised an eyebrow.

"That's one way of putting it, yes... where are the-"

"Hostages?" Pharaoh Man interrupted. "They have all already been freed... they were the moment you arrived. No point in keeping them here any longer, was there? No matter who wins this duel..."

"Well, that doesn't give us much to talk about..." Mega observed. "Shall we get this fight over with, then?"

"On the contrary... we have a lot to talk about. However..." Pharaoh Man raised his hand and formed a ball of glowing energy in it. "We also have a lot to fight about!" Jumping forward, he threw the energy ball directly at Mega.

"Fair enough!" Jumping the shot, Mega responded with a charged blast, which Pharoah Man also dodged before throwing another energy ball. The two of them circled each other, alternating firing and dodging, until Mega Man grunted and changed colors. "Let's try something faster, then!" Forming a Ring Boomerang in each hand, he threw them with deadly accuracy.

"I don't think so!" Twisting, Pharaoh Man adjusted his position so that both blades only scratched him while flinging an energy ball directly at Mega. Unable to dodge, the blue hero took his first hit full-on. Growling, he threw more Ring Boomerangs, but Pharaoh Man dodged them with equal ease.

"All right... if that won't work, how about this?" Turning grey, he fired off a shot of the Dust Crusher just as Pharaoh Man was in the middle of a leap. Caught, the egyptian-themed Robot Master was borne to the ground under the debris. Immediately, though, he grunted and forced himself back to his feet, resuming the attack with more energy balls thrown.

"That hurt, I will admit... but it won't be nearly enough to stop me, fool!" Another two shots hit Mega.

"So the junk won't stop you... what about this, then?" Jumping onto Pharaoh Man bodily, he activated the Skull Barrier. Pharaoh Man just smiled up at him as he calmly took the hit.

"Probably not!" Throwing Mega off, Pharaoh Man threw more energy balls after him. Wincing, Mega got to his feet.

"So, what did you want to talk about anyway?" He inquired as he moved around, trying straight plasma once more.

"Your motivations." The enemy Robot Master responded, not letting up his attack for even a second. "Tell me, Mega Man. Why exactly are you fighting this Rebellion? Why do you do it?"

"You ask me this?" Mega laughed mirthlessly. "Fine. I'll answer. It's to protect lives, and to stop this chaos. People can't be allowed to just disrupt and threaten the entire world like this. Too many innocents pay the price. Your creator, Cossack, has to be stopped. That's why I'm doing this."

"How simple." Pharaoh Man snorted, pegging Mega once more. "You sound like a comic book hero."

"And you need to shut up and actually think about what you're doing to everybody before you judge me!" Turning green, Mega launched a Rain Flush pod into the air. Pharaoh Man winced as the acid washed over him, but held his ground.

"That won't take me down either, Mega Man... nothing will! It's time I got serious with this fight!"

"Now YOU sound like a comic book villain." The blue hero snorted. "What do you mean, get..." His voice trailed off as he noticed the familiar glow forming on his enemy. "Oh... crap." A moment later, a massive blast of solar energy smashed him across the room. Pharaoh Man smiled.   
"That's what I mean. You're not the only one who can charge a shot. That was the charged version of the Pharaoh Shot... the Pharaoh Wave. You like it?"

"Does a trout like grizzlies?" Mega muttered sarcastically as he pried himself out of the wall. _Damn... I'm down to 10%! E-Tank, E-Tank!_ Downing one of the glowing blue canisters, Mega felt his energy return. This was not lost on Pharaoh Man, who immediately began charging another Pharaoh Wave.

"So... you resort to that!"

"I play to win, buddy!" Mega retorted, diving aside to dodge the blast and returning fire with a Dive Missile.

"So do I, my friend!" Pharaoh Man jumped into the air, THROUGH the Missile taking the hit, and landed on Mega, pinning him to the ground. "Now, are you prepared to LOSE?"

"Not quite!" Before Pharaoh Man could unleash the Pharaoh Wave, Mega fired a Drill Bomb into his face, point-blank. The concussive blast sent them both flying. Simultaneously, they got back to their feet and resumed fighting. "Come to think of it... you do seem to be more passionate about this than the others." Pharaoh Man snorted.

"That is simply because I am."

"Care to elaborate?" Mega asked as a Pharaoh Wave seared the very top of his helmet.

"What's to elaborate on? I understand the purpose of this Rebellion more than any of my brethren did... and I know more than them that I CAN NOT LOSE. It is that simple, Mega Man." Pharoah Man didn't even wince as he took a charged plasma shot in the chest. Mega swore.

"What WORKS on you?!"

"NOTHING that you have will deter me from my course, hero!" Pharaoh Man screamed, ripping off a Pharaoh Wave that sent Mega flying. "For the sake of Doctor Cossack, you must die!"

"Oh, SHUT IT!" Screaming as well, Mega lurched to his feet, armor purple. "Your goals are blinded... and now, your eyes will be too!" Pharaoh Man only had a millisecond of astonishment to realize what Mega meant before everything he saw was blinding white light.

"ARGH!" Clutching his optics, Pharaoh Man dropped to the ground. "No... what the hell...?"

"The Flash Stopper... fool." Glaring down at his opponent, Mega began pumping charged plasma shots into him. "Pharaoh Man, you fight for the wrong reasons! This Rebellion means nothing more than Cossack's twisted desires! All that you are fighting for are the whims of a madman!"

"Shut up!" Pharaoh Man yelled as his vision began to clear. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that Mega hit him with the Flash Stopper again, blinding him once more to the plasma.

"No, YOU shut up! You know I'm right! All you're fighting for is a fallacy... a sham... an outrage! There is no glory or honor in this Rebellion... only terror! You aren't fighting for ANYTHING, Pharaoh Man!" A third Flash Stopper, and Pharaoh Man finally fell to the ground, not getting up.

"I... didn't. I... couldn't. I couldn't do it... I've failed you... doctor. I'm... sorry..." The dying Robot Master's eyes turned to his enemy. "Mega Man... how much do you think you know about this... Rebellion?"

"I already told you. I know it all... all the damnable fallacy of it." The blue hero answered bitterly. He stopped upon seeing the look Pharaoh Man was giving him. It cut straight to his soul.

"That is what you think you know... but Mega Man... you do not know it all... you are blinded to the truth... the truth... the... truth..." His eyes closed for the last time. Silently, Mega Man bent over and took his weapons chip.

"The Pharaoh Shot... and the Pharaoh Wave." Without another word, he teleported away. But for once... he was not feeling victorious.

Inside an ancient castle, a single human man reads the report of the last Robot Master's death, and nods sadly before returning to his work, and to fortifying his fortress for an expected attack.

At a laboratory in Tokyo, a robotic boy returns home in order to be repaired before he embarks on his final mission. His father and sister both greet him, and wonder at his somber mood.

In the Russian snowstorms, a figure wearing shades and a yellow scarf treks onward, bearing a delicate cargo more precious to both his brother and the doctor than anybody else can realize.

The three move forward, each of them with different thoughts running through their minds. And when they meet... the result of that meeting shall shake the foundation of the world itself.


	13. Chapter 12: Crashing Cossack's Castle

**__**

Chapter 12: Crashing Cossack's Castle

"And so it ends." Dr. Sergei Cossack whispered bitterly, observing the map of the world on his computer. All eight of the yellow lights representing the locations of his Robot Masters had gone dim, leaving only the red light at Cossack's position, and the blue light at Tokyo. "The Mega Man triumphs over his foes once more, and comes to put a stop to the evil by destroying the mastermind..." Cossack looked out a window into the snowy blizzard raging out there. "And he waits, and plans, and fears. I wonder what shall become of me once Mega Man has captured me." Dr. Sergei Cossack was now in many ways a broken man. None of the arrogance and confidence that he showed during his broadcasts was real, not a single scrap of it. The real Dr. Cossack lived in depression, regret and misery. "I have failed." And yet, if given the chance, he knew he would do it all again. For what was at stake here, Dr. Cossack would have started a million Rebellions. And for what was at stake here, Dr. Cossack was ready and willing to ride out this one to the bitter end, when Mega Man came knocking at his door. The doctor's eyes rose once more, filled with the old determination. He WOULD keep fighting to the end. Mega Man would recieve no quarter from him. "I shall fight until I can not fight any more... and not a moment before. This, I vow." That was all; he did not vow victory or triumph. Watching Mega Man's progress thus far had worn all of that out of him, slowly and gradually. All Dr. Cossack could hope for was that his efforts would be enough.

"Computer. Confirm that every single robot in this castle is active and on full alert." Dr. Cossack ordered.

"Confirmed. All robots are such, running on the patrol patterns that you designed yourself."

"My Fortress Guardians?"

"Melee Moth, The Cage, and the Skeeters are all at 100% operational capacity and also on full alert, waiting in their guard stations. All entrances and exits are set to lock down once anything has entered and not to cease until either the enemy or the Guardian has been destroyed." Cossack nodded grimly.

"And the Falling Hand?"

"Also at 100% operational capacity. It is on stand-by awaiting you, ready to go at any time."

"I've done all I can, then." Cossack sighed. "From this point on, it all rests in the hands of fate. I can only pray that they roll the dice in my favor. Computer, how long ago was Pharaoh Man killed?"

"Sixteen hours."

"And how long does it usually take Mega Man from destroying a Robot Master to depart for the next one?"

"..." The computer took a few moments to complete the more complex calculation. "Based on time recordings using Mega Man's warp signatures from all eight Robot Master deaths... average time is fifteen hours, forty-five minutes, nineteen seconds and two milliseconds."

"Well, he took a lot of damage..." Cossack thought to himself. "All right. Computer, wait half an hour more. As soon as that has passed, open a call to Doctor Light's home in Tokyo."

"Acknowledged." With that done, Dr. Sergei Cossack sat back in his chair, steepled his hands, and waited.

"Uh... Blues?" The girl stirred. "Cold again... I'm... what's going on? Where is the..."

"Shh, don't talk too much." Proto Man told her. "I'm afraid the hovertransport is gone... two more Robot Masters attacked about a half a day or so ago. I got them good, but the vehicle was already busted up beyond repair..."

"That's okay..." The girl smiled faintly. "You... carried me before. If you can... stand to do so again... I can manage it... too."

"Right now, all you have to do is stay alive, missy... please stay alive." Proto sighed, kicking a log out of his path. "You can't die... you're the most important thing in the world, FOR the world, right now."

"That's... that's not all, is it?" The girl struggled to remember. "My father... told me something once... about robots... rules?"

"You don't need to be worrying about those right now." Proto told her firmly. "Just relax. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"No... I'm fine." She sighed. "But... I want to know. Please, Blues... tell me. Please?" The scarf-wearing Robot Master chewed on his lip for a few seconds, then sighed as well.

"All right... but it's not nice. Basically, all robots, even the most advanced ones like me... are subject to three Rules of Robotics. Violating them is strictly forbidden... in anything below the very best of the best Robot Masters, it's instant shut-down. Advanced Robot Masters, like myself, have shown ability to bludgeon past the third and second rules... but the first is still adamant. Screw with that, and it's mind freeze... death, basically. Or maybe a coma is a better analogy... but either way, the poor sap who does it ain't going to be coming back."

"What are they?" The girl demanded. Proto Man rolled his eyes.

"Full of questions today... you must be feeling better." She actually laughed falteringly. "Well... the third rule is basically that we have to obey any orders given by a human, unless they tell us to hurt ourself or other humans. We all broke this one pretty early on."

"Then... why are you obeying me?" The girl asked with a trifle of impishness in her tone. Proto laughed.

"I'm telling you because I WANT to, missy, not because I have to. Now, then. The second law is that we have to act to preserve our own existence, unless that would result in harming a human. I've never busted this one myself, although I probably could if I have to... my brother Rock has done it several times, though. Crazy git. And the first... a robot must not harm, or through inaction, cause harm to come to a human. This ranges from anything to shooting a bum, to just standing and watching a guy fall off a building without helping. It's the absolute one... no exceptions."

"But..." The girl gasped in realization. "That means... that if I were to die out here... then you would..."

"I would die too." Proto Man affirmed. "As a result of failing to save your life." She closed her eyes, trying not to cry.

"No... you can't, Blues... you've done so much for me... you just can't die..."

"Well, the feeling's mutual." Proto reminded her cheerfully. "And as long as you stay alive, I'll be fine. Now you've got another reason to keep breathing! So I want you to get some more rest, okay?"

"Okay... I will." Settling back down, the girl was soon asleep once more. Proto Man looked over the snowlands still ahead of him.

"A ways to go... I just hope we get there... that we get to Cossack's before it's too late."

"Eight Robot Masters down. Eight Master Weapons." Mega Man said, sitting on the edge of the table, legs dangling. He shifted through them one at a time. "The Dust Crusher. The Skull Barrier. The Dive Missile. The Ring Boomerang. The Rain Flush. The Drill Bomb. The Flash Stopper. And... the Pharaoh Shot." He lingered on the orange shades of the last one before returning to his standard blues. "And four E-Tanks."

"Gotta catch 'em all." Roll turned around in her desk chair and clapped. "Very nice, bro. Excellent repertroire. However... I hate to say this-and I really do-but all of that isn't going to mean a thing until you've dealt with the source of the problem. Doctor Cossack is still out there, and as long as he is, the threat still remains. Unless you want to do this all over again eventually, you're going to have to go there and bring the big man himself down."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Mega sighed, hopping off the table. "The Robot Masters-all of them-were just tools. Means to an end, along with their hostages. Cossack always was the real enemy, but as long as he had those hostages, I couldn't move against him. Now, though... there's nothing keeping me back. Cossack's run out of lifelines. I'm going to end this Rebellion, just like every one before it."

"Are you going to be okay, Rock?" Dr. Light asked, concerned. The elderly robotocist was sitting at his computer. "You've been strange ever since it began... and Sergei is human, not a Robot Master. You'll have to bring him in alive and unharmed... and judging from the way he has been acting, that will not be easy at all."

"I brought Wily in twice, didn't I?" Mega gave his father a reassuring smile he didn't feel. "And the third time was Gamma... which Cossack does NOT have. I'll be fine, dad... if I can take care of complete psycho jobs like Wily and Doc Man, I can take care of a guy like Cossack."

"Beep!" Eddie ran up, beeping wildly. Mega laughed and shook his head as the little suitcase robot jumped up and down.

"Nope... sorry, Eddie, but I'm firm on what I said. You're not going anywhere dangerous until you're armored enough to take some heat, and that's final... even if it means you can't come along to Cossack's. All the help you can give me is nothing compared to keeping you alive, little buddy." He patted Eddie on the head. "Don't worry. I'll be fine... and I'll have Rush helping me out, too."

"Ruff!" The red robotic dog looked up from a corner of the room, where he was chewing on an old hubcap, upon hearing his name. He spat out a strip of rubber and barked again. Mega sighed.

"Yeah, I've got Rush. Anyways... I don't suppose there's any news from Blues now?"

"None whatsoever." Dr. Light shook his head glumly. Mega shrugged.

"Rats... I had actually figured that might happen. Blues isn't done with whatever he's doing, I guess... I was kinda hoped he would make contact now that all the Robot Masters are taken care of, but oh well. Blues will report right on schedule, I guess... and for him, that means exactly when he wants to, and not a millisecond before then. He's Blues... what can I say."

"Incoming call." Roll broke in tersely. "Source... it's coming from Cossack's Castle."   
"Also right on schedule." Mega responded with a grim frown. "Go ahead and put him on." Roll nodded and okayed the call, and Dr. Cossack's face appeared on the monitor, still wearing that superior smirk.

"I must congratulate you, my admirable adversary. You have done far better than I could have forseen... all eight of my Robot Masters now lie dead at your feet. Tell me, did it it make you feel good to kill them?"

"Don't give me that bull." Mega growled. "I killed them because I had to, no other reason. They were threats to humans... as are you, Cossack. As are you. And now they're gone."

"Is that a threat?" Cossack raised a curious eyebrow. "That sounded awfully like a violation of the First Law..." Mega snorted.

"Forget it. You can't get me like that, doc. I'm not going to kill you... but I WILL take you down. On THAT, you have my solemn vow that it will come to pass... like it or not."

"The word of a robot." Dr. Cossack threw his head back and laughed, long and deep and more than a little bit mad. "The word of a machine! Of a construct! A solemn vow!" The Russian robotocist put his head down, smirk even broader than usual. "Well, then, Mega Man. I will put your vow to the test. Let us see what it is worth, shall we?" He extended his arms in front of him, palms outward. "Come, then! Come to my castle in Russia, and we shall see whose will is stronger, and who shall triumph over whom! I assure yoou most wholeheartedly, Mega Man... that you will not find me or my castle easy prey for your Buster." Mega didn't waver an inch.

"If it's a battle of wills, Cossack... you cannot win. For my will to stop this... to stop all Rebellions... is as ironclad as my body. Against that... your pathetic goals and dreams of revenge are as nothing."

"Are they, now." The smirk had disappeared, and now Cossack was staring at Mega with a completely blank face, eyes burning. "I think, little robot, that you should not speak so loudly about things you know so little of. You have made your vow... now I shall make mine. One of us will not walk away from this castle. I will not stop, I shall not cease fire, I can not give up until either you are dead... or I am. To this, you have MY solemn vow, Mega Man."

"You will not have a choice in the matter." Mega Man predicted. Cossack gave him one more smile with all the warmth of Antarctica in winter.

"We shall see. I await your arrival." The connection died. Mega Man closed his eyes and remained motionless for a moment before opening them once more and moving away from the phone.

"Well, that's that... you heard the man. It would be quite discorteous of me to delay such a gracious invitation."

"You're not going to wait for the UN's orders?" Dr. Light asked hopefully. Mega shook his head.

"Nah. They know this is my job... there's no point in making myself go through unneccessary red tape. I'm going."

"Don't die." Roll said in a voice barely above a whisper. Mega gave her one last reassuring smile before teleporting away with Rush.

One man and two robots converged on one point, readying themselves for the finale.

"So, that's Cossack's castle..." Mega Man muttered as he stood in the snow, which was up to his waist. The monolith in front of him was entirely surrounded by at least hundred-foot stone walls, possibly two-hundred. They may not have looked like much compared to modern weaponry, but Mega knew that the stone was likely just an outer coating disguising much tougher metal defenses. Over the walls, just the top of an armored inner structure could be seen, with spiral towers at each corner. A much larger fifth tower was at the center of the fortress, and each corner also boasted some kind of gigantic cannon to ward off air attacks. Mega looked at the entrance and shook his head. "No way I'm going to be stupid enough to take the straight path. Gotta be some kind of back entrance..." He set off through the snow, destroying sentry robots as he circled the fortress. At the moment, the weather was peaceful and calm, but he knew it wouldn't last long; already, clouds were advancing rapidly. The blue hero found what he was looking for along the west wall; a ladder leading up into an overhang. "Here we go... knew there had to be something. There always is." Grunting, he clambered up inside the overhang, which appeared to have been used as a lookout in ancient days. Now, though, it was guarded only by robots. Dispatching the pair of spinning wheeled guards, Mega climbed further up onto a ledge cut partially up the massive outer wall.

"So far, so good... but I'm not inside yet by a long shot." A telltale rumble betrayed the accuracy of his suspicions, signifying an incoming snowstorm. Already, slippery ice encrusted the ledge, making Mega's walking highly dangerous... a situation which was decidedly not helped by several deep pits filled with rocket-bots that launched out of them to try and knock Mega in as he jumped. The Skeleton Joes stationed along it weren't helping either. Off in the distance, other ancient russian ruins could be seen dimly, but Mega mainly had eyes for his enemies. Still, their presence could not be completely ignored. "Those places must be archaeological gold mines... I wonder if anybody's gone through them... I'll have to mention it to Vinkus or somebody once I've locked up Cossack. Aw, man... this looks fun." One last large gap was between him and an icy metal catwalk that led further up. The Skeleton Joe on guard was easily taken care of, but the jump looked far more hazardous. Mega sighed, realizing there was no choice but to chance it-then slapped himself. "What am I thinking? There's no reason to play by Cossack's twisted game if I don't have to-and I don't." Pulling out the Balloon utility, he created one and used it as a stepping stone to cross with no problem.

"Easy. I'll have to thank Cossack for making this thing... maybe he didn't count on me bringing it." Reaching the next level on the catwalk, he groaned anew. "Or maybe he did." The next ladder hung far out away from the wall, at least fifteen feet. There was no way to access it except the Balloons. "Guess he took out a section... this is SO a trap." Wary, Mega began crossing; he couldn't use any weapons while keeping the Balloons equipped. Sure enough, a cluster of spinning canlike robots flew towards him the moment he was in the air. Mega immediately jumped back onto the catwalk and took them all out, THEN crossed to the ladder. "Too bad I'm on to Coss-aw, crap." It was starting to snow; flakes were already drifting down at a moderate rate. "I gotta pick up the pace before this turns worse-I SO do NOT want to be out here in a blizzard." Moving back towards the castle wall, he saw a series of ladders overhead, some longer than others. And all of them boasted a deadly clamp that moved up and down them, closing at regular intervals. "Oh, this looks fun." As it turned out, only the farthest ladder out led up; since the Balloon was unsafe to use now in the storm winds, he was forced to jump from ladder to ladder like "Some kind of freakin' Tarzan Man." Finally, he managed to get to the last one, and climbed up to see the door inside in front of him. The only thing between them was a huge road paver. Mega shook his head.

"You're in the way, pal. Looks like you're gonna be the first one to taste my new weapon!" Turning bright orange, he began slinging Pharaoh Shots at a high rate. Seven of the uncharged shots were enough to reduce the road paver to a smoking wreck. "Not bad... eh? Aw, man..." The 'door' was, in fact, a metal shutter with Dr. Cossack's emblem above it. "He WAS counting on me coming this way... well, no help for it now. I've got to get inside." Entering, he emerged in a completely darkened room. The floor felt... wierd. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that he was standing on a network of interlocking thick metal pipes. "What's this for... I have a bad feeling about this... YOW!" Suddenly, the lights flashed on, revealing a gigantic, hovering war machine. The beast was designed to look like some kind of massive metallic insect, with spreading wings and a pointed tail. It sported a menacing pink and red paint job.

"Ha ha ha... you fool, Mega Man!" Dr. Cossack's voice came from a speaker in the beast's face. "Did you really think I would not have a stock of Fortress Guardians? Meet Melee Moth! I shall leave you to enjoy playing with him... have fun!" The speaker shut off, and Melee Moth sprang to life. A focusing crystal set in the chest hummed and fired a large blast of energy. Mega jumped it and returned fire with a charged blast to the head... which splattered ineffectively.

"Heavy armor... dammit!" Running around the pipes to avoid plasma blasts, he tried attacking the tail, but it was similarly armored, as were the wings and torso. None of the other weapons were able to penetrate the armor either; even the Ring Boomerangs and Drill Bomb were unable to scratch it. Mega swore as he discovered Melee Moth had cornered him. "I don't like the looks of that tail, but there's no help for it... BANZAI!" Dropping to his rear, he slid underneath the huge warbot. A split-second later, the spearlike tail plunged into the ground where he had been a moment before, and punched a hole clear through the piping. Mega stared as he became orange-colored; there was a clean break below the beast now, and nothing beneath but darkness. "Oh, I do NOT want to get hit by that... but if this drags on too long, I'll either be cornered or falling... need to take this thing OUT!" On the last word, he unleashed the charged Pharaoh Wave for the first time. Unlike Pharaoh Man's version, he did not release a crescent shot, but a huge globular blast. It slammed into Melee Moth's chest, and spread all over... and where the energy went into the focusing crystal for the plasma shots, it sunk in with a hiss.

"Of course! Stupid! Just like the Yellow Devil... well, now I know where to aim for! Looks like you're not so invincible, butterfly!" Leaping into the air, he continued his barrage of Pharaoh Waves, relentlessly burning into the crystal. Melee Moth changed tactics; instead of attacking him directly, it began punching holes around the edges of the arena. The significance of this was not lost on Mega Man. "Oh, no you don't... think you're going to drop the floor out from under me? WRONG, BUGBRAIN!" Mega Man leaped towards Melee Moth with a Ring Boomerang in each hand. A moment later, he landed behind it, and the beast hung motionless in the air for a split second before the focusing crystal exploded in millions of shards. Now desperate, it began to punch holes frantically and mindlessly-leaving itself open to attack. "You've just been swatted!" Leaping onto the chest, Mega plunged a Pharaoh Wave directly into the open cavity. Melee Moth's entire body flashed, and then the light faded from it, the tail flopped loosely like a dead snake, and it dropped to the ground. Mega shook his head and sighed.

"Well, that's one Fortress Guardian down... and lord knows how many to go. Although I'm getting this wierd sense of deja vu..."

"Five minutes until show time, Darwin ol' buddy." Dr. Trent Corbun announced brightly. Darwin Vinkus shot him a sour look.

"It's not 'show time', Trent. It's a meeting of the United Nations. A political affair, not some kind of... circus."

"What's the difference?" Dr. Corbun asked, wide-eyed. Vinkus continued glaring at him for a moment longer, than gave up and began to laugh slowly.

"Heh... well, these days, I will admit... it is getting hard to tell. With the way they're all acting in there...."

"They have not calmed down recently?" Mr. X blinked. "I had thought that with the rescue of all the hostages, that they might have been satisfied at least in some amount... is that not the case?"

"Not even close." Vinkus groaned as he settled into an armchair with a most undignified flop that he would never even consider if any other politicians were present. "On the contrary, I'm afraid... they've grown even more rabid now that Cossack doesn't have any hold over them."

"So, what's the magical topic of discussion for all these brilliantly frenzied minds, hmm?" Dr. Corbun raised an eyebrow quizzically. "The worldwide tax rate? Melting of the glaciers due to our grandfathers' idiotic global warming? The world's supply of toilet paper?"

"Cossack himself." Vinkus shot a glance heavenward. "Now that Mega Man's out bringing him back-"

"You mean he's gone already?" Mr. X broke in. "I would have thought he would have taken a longer rest before moving... did all of you give him the order to attack this fast?"

"No, as a matter of fact." Vinkus shook his head. "Mega Man left all by himself without so much of a how-de-do from us. For some reason, though, I don't believe a single one of us will have any sort of issue with it. Including myself... we do owe that robot a lot, after all. Now, may I finish?"

"Sorry." Mr. X apologized.

"All right. Now, then. Since the word got out that Mega's going to be bringing Cossack out of that castle in chains soon, all the nations who were attacked-and some who weren't-are all yelling at each other and arguing over who gets jurisdiction over Cossack after the Rebellion. I swear, every single member there wants their country to be the one who decides Cossack's fate."

"And that would be?" Dr. Corbun inquired.

"Nothing nice, that's for certain. Of course, the death penalty's still not an option since it was outlawed in 2049, but at least thirty percent of them want to lock Cossack up for the rest of his life and throw away the key." Mr. X looked surprised.

"What? But they let Wily out twice before his death, didn't they? And his Rebellion crimes were much more extensive than Cossack's..."

"Yeah, but if he had survived the third, he would have recieved a unanimous life sentence with no bail. When he revealed his true colors there, he threw away his last chance... not that he needed it."

"So... that still doesn't sound like enough to make them overreact so much to Cossack." Dr. Corbun frowned.

"Well, here's the thing... nobody expected another Rebellion. Everybody thought that when Wily died, the Rebellions died too. When Cossack busted this on us out of the blue, it basically surprised the hell out of everybody. A lot of them are still running on the adrenaline from that, and they're not thinking straight. They're just thinking "Rebellion" and not really comprehending that Cossack hasn't killed a single person or done more than holding them hostage. It's all just blending together in their skulls... no, I'm afraid things do not look good for Dr. Sergei Cossack." He looked at a clock and got to his feet with a sigh. "It's time. Wish me luck... and sanity, for that matter." Dr. Corbun nodded.

"You took some Advil?"

"Two pills ten minutes ago." Vinkus nodded back. Both men rose and shook his hand.

"Luck."

"Luck. We'll be watching on the Tv."

"Thanks." Vinkus smiled briefly before walking away through the door. A short while later, he arrived in a huge chamber representing the United Nations meeting room. The politician flipped what appeared to be a light switch near the door, and holographic representations of the other councillers shimmered into existence. At the same time, all of them in their seperate homes saw Vinkus' representation come on as he seated himself. Counciller Martel from the United States smiled in greeting.

"Ah, Counciller Vinkus. There you are. Is that everybody?" Nobody responded. "Very well. This meeting of the United Nations is now in session. Counciller Martel presiding." Immediately, as if he had activated an electric charge in each of their seats, the councillers sprang to life, each apparently trying to scream louder than any of the others. However, if listening to the noise long enough, one could almost begin to make a sort of sense out of it, for all of the shouts were about one subject. Dr. Sergei Cossack, and what was to become of him.

"Well, that didn't take long at all..." Vinkus muttered to himself sardonically. _I should have taken three Advil_. The noise would, of course, drag on for quite some time, and most of what they were all saying would be almost identical. Things did not look good for Dr. Sergei Cossack.

"At least this is an improvement over the outside temperature-wise..." Mega Man said as he looked up the long green vertical shaft above him. "Might as well get to work." Choosing a ladder, he climbed up, dodging clamps and spinning cocoon-bots. Upon reaching the top, however, he was only greeted by an even more unpleasant sight. An extremely long hallway, with the floor completely covered in spikes after the first ten feet or so. The blue hero sighed as he casually wasted a skull-headed security robot and picked up a large capsule of Weapons Energy for his Pharaoh Shot. At least that was one good thing. "Now this looks familiar. Wily put this same kind of thing in Skull Fortress III... and I'll deal with it the same way. Yo, Rush!"

"Ruff!" Landing next to his master, Rush looked over the spikes and immediately transformed into jet mode without even being commanded to. Mega chuckled as he stepped on board.

"So, you recognize this setup too, eh? Off we go, then!" As they blazed down the hall, Mega looked out a huge glass window. The snowstorm seemed to be calming down now; the flakes were drifiting past slowly, almost gently, to settle on the ground so far below. Shaking his head, Mega turned his attention back to the task at hand and shot down a cylindrical flying robot. A few minutes later, he was climbing up the ladder on the other side to the next floor. "Oh, this looks like loads of fun..." It was another vertical shaft, even longer than the last one. The difference was, in this one, there were several ladders on opposite sides of the walls, and the only way to get to them was by stepping across "stepping stone" blocks protruding from the walls. And those blocks stuck out sai-like prongs from their four sides in turns every few seconds. "This is a nasty setup... Cossack's a smart one, I'll give him that. However, he still seems to be forgetting about his own utilities." Climbing the first ladder, he then fired the Wire up, which grabbed into the bottom rung of the ladder above him and dragged him after it. The handy grappling hook helped him again on the next floor, nabbing him a large energy capsule that put his internal operations energy back up to 100%, a welcome bonus after Melee Moth. There were a couple of Batontons guarding it, of course, but the Wire also proved itself handy at grabbing enemy robots and smashing them into walls and ceilings. Jumping a few small spiked pits and destroying a strangely pink-colored mono-wheeled 'bot, Mega continued on.

"Ah... and this puts my Wire energy back up to full." Mega smiled as he grabbed a second large weapons energy capsule. Now, except for a small dent in his Ring Boomerang supply, he was at full power. "And I'll probably by needing it... my instinct's telling me it's getting close to time when Cossack puts another Fortress Guardian in my way." He frowned at a clamp coming down the ladder towards him, and again at a section of the wall that appeared to be more constructed out of green metal bricks, unlike the rest. "Eh? This was only covered up recently... let's see what's behind it. Drill Bomb time!" The powerful, penetrating explosive broke apart the section of wall easily, revealing a cubbyhole with an E-Tank. "Score! That's five I have now! Things are looking good..." Dodging the clamp, he finished his climb and found himself face-to-face with another metal shutter. Again, Cossack's emblem was on the wall above it.

"Looks like my instinct was right on the money. Let's see what's in here..." Once again, he emerged in a room that was completely dark. "Farg it. What's-OOF!" Out of nowhere, Mega was suddenly struck by a force equivalent to a football player at full throttle. Falling on his rear, Mega felt something BIG go rushing past him. A few seconds later, it came again, slower this time. Mega was able to slide under it. However, he also felt several more of the... things... several feet above him. The third time, they were all moving quite slow, and drifted together harmlessly. Suddenly, the lights flickered on, and Mega was greeted by the sight of a purple metallic cube roughly fifteen feet wide on each side. Cracks running horizontally around the entire cube seperating it into thirds made him realize what he had been hit by-the pieces of this machine blasting around seperately before unifying into this.

"Ha ha ha... what do you think of this Fortress Guardian, Mega Man?" Cossack's voice came from inside the machine. "I call it The Cage, for reasons which you shall soon discover. Have fun!" From an almost-unnoticable hole in one side, a bolt of energy suddenly flew at Mega. It was followed by several more, and the blue hero had to do some fast dancing to dodge them. The Cage slid apart into its three sections once more and began blasting around. This time, though, Mega was able to see them, and was thus able to dodge them easier while he thought over his options.

"Rain Flush and Flash Stopper probably won't do squat... Cossack's too smart to leave it vulnerable to something that can hit all of it at once. Doubt Dive Missiles will be very effective either... too much Cage to go around, it wouldn't be able to effectively find a weak point. Dammit, why does there always have to be one Fortress Guardian that's based on insane genius... hmm. The Drill Bomb, Ring Boomerang and charged Pharoah Shot might be able to blow, slice or burn through that armor... how thick is it?" He looked at a segment as it slowed down and winced. "No way. I'd run out of energy before I made more than a really big dent. Wait... it's hollow! Looks like I'll have to get inside!" Right before the pieces combined again, he leaped onto the lowest segment. With a click, the pieces locked together, trapping him in. It was only then that Mega realized it was called "The Cage" for a reason. "D'OH! Stupid, stupid... well, might as well make the best of it! Look for a weak point, look for a weak point..." His eyes were drawn to a large hole near the top. A moment later, a huge red crystalline globe appeared in the hole and began emitting energy bolts. "So that's where they came from!" Dodging the bolts as best he could while inside The Cage, Mega decided that that crystal looked to be his best chance at a target; the rest of The Cage's inside seemed as well-armored as the outside. "Figures. Better use the biggest thing I have..." Charging up a Pharaoh Wave, Mega launched it at the orb. It dissipated harmlessly. "ARGH! Okay, not thinking clearly... don't go with energy based weapons, think about what would be good at removing-whoa!" The Cage slid apart again as the orb retracted, and Mega was forced to run around avoiding the mass times acceleration of the pieces.

"Okay, this thing's all one big machine in three parts, linking together to make one whole. What would mess up the gears of that... wait... mess up!" Changing his colors to dull grey, Mega leaped into the Cage again. As the pieces clicked together, he began covering the cracks with the Dust Crusher. "This should jam up your system!" He winced as an energy bolt slammed into his unprotected back, but kept going. A few more such hits later, he spun and shot his remaining Dust Crusher shots into the orb, which sputtered with each hit. "Heh... didn't like that, eh? Let's just hope this works as well on the box as it does on the sphere..." The entire Cage began to hum, but nothing came apart. The cracks started to smoke, and Mega felt the machine trying to move... but not succeeding. The orb didn't retract. "Ha! It can't get through the gunk... and it looks like Cossack only designed the weak point to retract when the pieces came apart! Fatal mistake! You're all mine now, pal!" Switching to the Drill Bomb, he fired one heavy explosive after another straight into the crystal. Already damaged by the Dust Crusher, and single-mindedly blowing its energy on attempting to split up, the machine was unable to take this added stress. Three Drill Bombs were all it took to destroy the crystal, and with a squeal, the whole thing began to overheat. Mega's face went white. "Oh, crap... it's going to explode, and I'm still inside!" He frantically fired Drill Bombs into the hole, hoping that he could punch through the outer layer of armor there in time. By the time he fired his last one, the whole thing was glowing too bright for him to see if it had worked. "Just have to hope...!" Pointing his Wire at the hole, he fired. The grappling hook grabbed onto something, and pulled him. Mega felt the scraping as he went through the sides of the hole... and emerged. A moment later, the entire Cage exploded, and the three slagged sections spun through the air like a trio of discuses into the wall. The force of the explosion smashed Mega into the ceiling.

"Ugh... huh?" He blinked. He wasn't falling back down. By sheer luck, he had not hit the ceiling after all, but had flown up towards it and landed on the small ledge that held the door leading further on. "That was WAY too close... and I've drained all the energy of two of my Master Weapons completely. If the next Fortress Guardian is any worse than this, I'm in trouble." Opening the door, he realized that he had been fighting in one of the corner towers; ahead of him stretched the top of the upper fortress wall. Fortunately, the snowstorm has passed, and the sky was now clear and blue. "Weather's good, at least... but I can't say the same for my mood. At least I'm getting closer... Cossack has to be around here somewhere."


	14. Chapter 13: True Motives

**__**

Chapter 13: True Motives

"You realize, of course, that you should never take things at face value concerning Maverick Uprisings. Or anything else, for that matter. When I first came to this place, I did not know that. Back then, I believed that whatever my superiors at the GDC said was correct. It eventually took a beating by Zero Omega to start me on the path to change. People often hide their true motives, their true reasons... and the more evil the person, the more hidden their secrets are..." -Signas, Commander of the Maverick Hunters following the death of Dr. James Cain, addressing new recruits at a general assembly before the Eighth Maverick Uprising

"Well, nothing in there..." Mega Man sighed, walking out of the second of the pointed corner towers, left of the one that he had fought The Cage in. Walking along the walltops was by no means a pleasure stroll. They were every bit as guarded as the rest of the castle, and there was the added of danger of falling off. A hundred-foot fall would be a severe threat to even a Robot Master. And there were still two more towers to check for the way onward. "The logical choice would be the one farthest away from where I came out... but Cossack's not like Wily in that regard. He likes to gamble. So who knows, and there's only one way to find out..." He set off again, jumping across gaps in the walltop that held steep ramps below that culminated in a long drop. Those were most definitely to be avoided. The tiny mobile cattle prods circling ledges and the armored plasma cannons stationed on them didn't help matters either. About the only good thing was, he was able to get some of his Drill Bomb energy refilled from the remains. At the end of the road, a huge road-paving robot awaited him, but he saw it coming easily, and it made a big target to be taken out from a distance. Stepping over the slagged hulk, Mega climbed the ladder up the side of the third tower and frowned. Betweeen him and the next ladder were two small ledges, each with a razor-bladed Gabyool robot that was immune to most of his weapons. Mega thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Bet I know what'll wash you away." A few doses of the Rain Flush melted both Gabyools away, and the blue hero was able to cross with ease. A moment later, he was looking inside the tower. Aside from a rather large missile battery, there was nothing inside. "Yup. It's in the one to the right of where I started... figures. Freakin' Cossack." Jumping back down to the walltop, he set off again, as the sun began to set. "I've been here for a while... it'll be night soon. Better hurry... the last thing I need is to arrive at my appointment needing sleep." He frowned; this walltop was almost entirely missing. "The hell? How do you cross here?" As if on cue, a shiny golden block materialized, hovering in the air above him. Mega stared. "Wily's disappearing block technology?! No, wait... this thing isn't going away. It's just sitting there, and... slowly rising? Dammit!" Without further ado, he jumped onto the block, which instantly began to sink under his weight. However, another one appeared a little further on, and he leaped to it. The first block, freed of his weight, shot off into the sky even as a third block appeared. In this manner, he made his way across to the fourth tower. There were airborne robots running-flying? Interference, of course, but they were easily shot down.

"Well, here I am..." He grunted, jumping off the last block and into the short tunnel before the entrance. There was a metal shutter at the end. "Aw, no... does this mean Cossack expected me to come this way, all the way around? Great... wait, if I had gone right to start, would I have even been able to get in? Probably not... so it's just as well I went around. Might as well get down to business, I suppose..." He walked in. The room in front of him had three ledges connecting the two side walls, one up against each of the other walls and one in between. The floor below was covered with deadly spikes. "Oh, this looks fun. Hm? Strangely, there were two more metal shutters on the wall opposite him. One at the top and one at the bottom. "What, is this some kind of 'choose your fortress guardian' thing? Yow!" He leaped forward as the part of the ledge he was standing on connecting it to the entrance collapsed onto the spikes. A moment later, the upper shutter opened, and a robot emerged. "Guess not..." It was vaguely insectoid, with two spindly legs holding up a spherical body. It had one red eye, and three plasma cannons on top. And it was walking on the ceiling quite easily.

"Did you have fun on the walls, Mega Man?" Dr. Cossack laughed over the speaker. The blue hero growled.

"Bite me."

"I take it that's a no. Oh well... at any rate, here are the last of my Fortress Guardians. I have dubbed them the Skeeters. Once you defeat them, you'll have a clear path to me... if you choose the right path, that is..." The speaker died, and the Skeeter sprang to life. Crawling across the roof until it was above Mega, it began firing plasma bullets straight down from the cannon on top of its body. Jumping to another platform, Mega began responding with plasma of his own. The Skeeter immediately switched to the two cannons on the sides of the first, firing down at him diagonally. Mega was forced to move again, and now the Skeeter was suddenly in motion, moving at him at double its previous velocity to try and slam into him while he was airborne near the ceiling. Mega hastily activated his Skull Barrier, but the Skeeter plowed through it like a charging bull through a glass window and knocked him to the edge of the ledge, just a breath away from falling onto the deadly spikes below. Rolling away to avoid the plasma, Mega nailed it with a fully charged Pharaoh Shot. The Skeeter, unfazed, fired at him from above again.

"Well, it can't work on everything... try some of this, then!" Pulling out a pair of Ring Boomerangs, Mega flung them both at the Skeeter's eyeball. They scraped up against it with a horrendous screeching, then broke through, raining crystal fragments. "And now, to finish this!" Leaping up, Mega fired a Drill Bomb into the socket, point blank. The Skeeter continued moving for a moment after the explosion... then, with a clatter, the feet detached from the ceiling and it fell onto the spikes. Mega smiled. "That was almost too easy... wait a second..." His smile disappeared. "Cossack said Skeeter_s_, plural..." He spun around as the metal shutter below the one the Skeeter had emerged from opened as well... and another Skeeter came out, walking from spike-tip to spike-tip as if they were normal stepping stones. "Crud. It WAS too easy." The second Skeeter looked like an upgraded model; there were FOUR plasma cannons positioned around the sides of the top, and the one in the center had been replaced by a nasty-looking focusing crystal. "Oh, I don't like the looks of that... better take this one out quick. Ring Boomerangs and Drill Bombs seem to work well..." He immediately launched one of the latter at the robot, but the Skeeter put on a bust of speed, reached a wall... and immediately began walking up IT. Mega stared for a moment before it attacked with all four side cannons at once, bringing him back to his senses. Leaping towards another platform, both to dodge the fire and to get closer to his opponent, Mega threw two Ring Boomerangs, this time trying to slice through the weaker-looking legs. The Boomerangs struck sparks, but did not cut through. Beeping, the Skeeter moved up onto the ceiling, crossed it, then started down the opposite wall. Mega immediately leaped towards it... then tried to stop too late as he saw the focusing crystal power up. A moment later, a huge plasma blast smashed into him, knocking him back.

"Ugh... now I know what it feels like to get hit with one of my own charged shots..." Wincing, he got back to his feet and quickly through a Ring Boomerang at the Skeeter's eye. Too late; it was already back on the spikes below, using its side cannons again. Mega dodged and waited. The moment the Skeeter stepped onto the wall again, its eye was assaulted by a pair of the razor rings. Like its brother, its eye held fast for a moment, then shattered. "Gotcha! Game over, bug!" Mega triumphantly fired a Drill Bomb even as it fired its high-powered plasma blast one last time. The explosion as they met knocked Mega onto his rear. "Ow! I'm getting real tired of this happening..." When he looked up, all that remained of the Skeeter was a pair of legs still clinging to the wall and a pile of scrap below. Mega sighed and turned towards the shutters they had come in through. "High or low... which way do I go? The high path will probably take me to that huge center tower... and the low path down into the fortress depths. Where will Cossack be? No use using logic... he doesn't follow it in any sane way. Where would Wily be, then..." A moment later, he was hanging from the ceiling by his Wire and swinging towards the lower shutter. "If I'm right... I'm almost there. Just wait a little longer, Cossack... in a few minutes, we can sort this whole mess out between us for good."

"The snow's stopped..." The girl noticed as she came awake. "It's calm out... more peaceful... the skies are clear..."

"Yeah, it's a lot nicer." Proto Man agreed. "It's getting late, though... almost nighttime. It'll get colder then."

"But at least it won't be as cold as a night blizzard... right?" The girl smiled a bit impishly. Proto laughed.

"Very true, very true. You've got me there, missy... which means you've been hanging out with me for too long. That's what my sister would say if she was here, at least..."

"You have a... sister?" The girl blinked, slightly surprised. Proto nodded, surprised in turn, but he kept walking.

"Yeah... I haven't told you about her?"

"No... I knew Mega Man... Rock... was your brother... but I didn't know you had a sister too. What's... her name?"

"My sister's name is Roll." Proto told her. "She's younger than me too... actually, both her and Rock were activated at about the same time. Dad claims to have forgotten who was a few minutes or so ahead of the other... I think it was intentional to avoid likely squabbles if it ever game out." The girl thought about this for a moment.

"They... fight a lot, then?"

"We all do, all the time." Proto chuckled. "Roll's got a lot of fire in her... hardly a day passed when I was back there that she didn't have some new wisecrack for me and Rock. She doesn't have a buster, but that's probably a good thing... she's dangerous enough as it is. I honestly thought she was going to explode that one time me and Rock got the bright idea to egg and TP her room on Halloween. Not our best move."

"I'll bet..." The girl giggled. "You... sound like kids... my age."

"Oh, really?" Proto turned his head around and gave her an amused smirk. "How old would you say I am, missy?"

"Seventeen... eighteen..." She guessed. Proto laughed.

"I'm flattered... most people say I look around thirteen or fourteen. But they're wrong too. I'm only eight years old... around your age, like you said."

"You... but you're... like an adult!" The girl gasped. Proto's smile disappeared and he sighed.

"Well, to start, I was programmed with a lot of this... I didn't acquire it from infancy, like humans. The rest... spending more than half of your life wandering around the African Congo with no idea where you are, where you're going or if you'll ever get out, and no knowledge of what's happening to your family... it makes you grow up real quick. When I'm at home, with my dad and my brother and sister and dog... and suitcase... I can forget all of that, just relax and be happy with life. Be a kid."

"But when a Rebellion comes along..." The girl realized. Proto nodded, blasting a log out of their way.

"Yeah. When that happens, there's no time for goofing off... that's when I have to use all the experience of those years on my own. Rock's more the gung-ho hero... I'm the spy, the guy who sneaks around behind the scenes to learn what's really going on. That's how I found you, thank whatever gods there are for that... anyways, I think that's the real reason Rock hates Rebellions so much. They break into his peaceful life... as long as one's going on, he can't be a kid. He has to be Mega Man, and only when Mega Man's job is done can he go back to being happy."

"Do... you think I'll... be able to go back to... being a happy kid again?" The girl asked hesitantly. Proto turned his head to her again, smiling reassuringly.

"Don't be silly... of course you will. We're almost there, you know? Look, up ahead. You can see it now on the horizon if you look really hard... granted, sunset isn't exactly the ideal time for a lot of light, but still. In just a few minutes, we'll go in there and work things out between those two, and everything will be all hunky-dory. You might have to spend a couple months getting well, but when those are past, you'll be right as rain. It'll be fine... you'll see."

"But..."

"No buts, missy." Proto interrupted gently. "Now, how are you feeling? How's your head?" The girl thought for a moment.

"Still hot... but not too bad... better than it was before we got the hovervehicle, at least..."

"That's good. Now, once we get there, I'm going to assume that our entrance will cause all hell to break loose. It's probably going to be pretty exciting and all that, but I want you to stay as still as possible, you hear me? You're still in pretty bad shape, no offense, and I do NOT want you making it worse through any sort of physical activity whatsoever. Understand?"

"I'll... try to restrain myself." She flashed him a weary smile. Proto Man nodded back.

"That's my girl. Just take it easy, and I'll handle all the complicated stuff. No sweat. Hmm... and there goes the sun." He remarked as the last vestiges of light disappeared over the horizon. "I always preferred sunset and the night after it to bright daytime for some reason... not sure why, exactly. Programming peculiarity, I suppose. It's a beautiful night out, anyways... but with not so beautiful things happening just up ahead. We'd better get a move on... I can see some slagged sentry robots over there near the place, which means my brother's already inside. No time to waste... now, where did I put it again... know it's around here somewhere..."

"Put what?" The girl asked curiously. Proto grunted.

"We can't follow my brother the long way in... it's called the long way for a reason. It'd take too long, and we don't HAVE too long. But I know there's a shortcut somewh... aha! Here we go! Sorry, but I'm going to have to put you down now... gotta move all this junk away." He stopped in front of what looked like an ordinary snow-covered hill and gently set the girl down on a nearby rock, then began clearing the snow off of the hill as fast as he could.

"Is this shortcut of yours under there?" The girl asked.

"Yuuup. Been hidden here for a while, actually... I'm just glad that none of the robots or the man himself found it here and took it away. Just may be what saves him... let's hope it doesn't get that close, though. Here we go..." Proto finished with the snow, revealing that the "hill" was actually a large tarpaulin covering something... big. Without further ado, he pulled the tarp off. The girl stared.

"What... is THAT?"

"THAT... is our ride, Miss Kalinka."

From the back of one of the corner towers in a castle in northern Russia, a single, small blue figure emerged through a secret door onto a hidden outcropping of the wall. Before him, sunken in the walltop, was a manhole-like ground opening, leading down into who-knows-where. He stopped for a moment and shifted his gaze from the opening ot upward.

"Well, that's it for daytime..." Mega Man muttered, looking up at the night sky. "And it's a full moon out tonight, too... what are the odds? So it's to be a moonlight showdown... seems appropriate, even though there won't be any moonlight where I'm going, so that doesn't really matter... enough talk, Mega. Let's get this finished and done with... then you can talk to yourself." Sighing, he jumped down into the depths of the fortress once more. A pair of plasma cannons immediately greeted him, and were taken out as he moved down further. A gigantic road paver blocked the hall that he dropped down to, and was blasted apart by a Pharaoh Wave. Sliding past a few tiny mobile cattle prods, Mega went back up a level and destroyed a trio of lurking Batontons, then surveyed his options. "Let's see here. There's this ladder going up... or this wall that looks like it can be broken apart with a Drill Bomb. Should I... nah. Probably not. Could be a trap. Better just stick with the straight path." Climbing up the ladder, Mega found himself on the outer, defensive walltop. The whole thing was riddled with pits, and the only safe spots were tiny pillar stepping-stones. Mega shook his head.

"I don't think so. Yo, Rush!" Jetboarding across was a much safer route. Upon reaching the other side, Mega dropped back down into the fortress depths, destroying several metal-mask jetters that tried to block his way. A few narrow pipes patrolled by the tiny mobile cattle prods later, Mega was falling to another floor down. "Cossack's gotta be close." As if on cue to his words, he landed in the final stretch of hallway. A few cycling wheeled skulls were all that seperated him from the metal shutter with Cossack's insignia over it. "Bingo. I made it... you idiots are nothing." Indeed, the skull-bots were removed from the picture quite easily with only a few plasma shots, and the way was laid open. Mega Man walked up to it and stopped. "This is it, then. End of the game. For his sake, Cossack had better be ready..." He drained an E-Tank, returning him to 100% internal operations energy. "Because I sure as hell am. Time to end the Rebellions, once and for all." He entered the room.

"So, you have arrived." The familiar voice rang our of the darkened room. Mega stepped forward.

"Come out and fight, you maniacal madman!"

"As you wish..." From the shadows, a machine emerged. Hanging on a superstrong thick metal cord from the ceiling was a transparent plasteel dome. Below that, a heavily armored base with eight plasma cannons positioned evenly around its sides. At the bottom, a grasping mechanical claw. And inside the dome, holding the controls as he glared down at Mega Man with rage and despair, was Doctor Sergei Cossack. "I am here, little robotic Mega Man."

"Sergei Cossack." Mega glared back. "You have a lot to answer for... little human doctor. You brought back the Robot Rebellions. You plunged this planet into mechanical war once more, when it could have ended for good three years ago. All for your stupid, petty rationale. Do you have anything to say in your defense? Anything at all?"

"I have nothing to say to you, Mega Man." Cossack rasped. "I shall do my talking with this... the Falling Hand."

"Hmph... nothing to say. Very well, then... saves time, at least. I have nothing more to say to YOU, then." He charged his buster. "Only one question. Are you ready to go down?"

"If it comes to pass, than so be it!" The russian robotocist screamed, punching a button. "En guarde! To the death, Mega Man!" Immediately, the Falling Hand lurched into motion, three of the plasma cannons firing at once as the machine blasted forward along a rail in the ceiling it was dangling from. Mega fired back even as he dived to the side to avoid the blasts.

"Wrong... not to the death. To the end of this Rebellion, and of all your threats and nightmares!" Switching to the Drill Bombs, he launched a pair of the deadly piercing explosives. They flew straight at Cossack... and bounced off the plasteel before exploding in the air harmlessly.

"You are not thinking straight, Mega Man." Cossack observed, manuevering the Falling Hand so that it was above his robotic enemy. "Did you honestly believe I would leave myself vulnerable to a weapon I designed myself?"

"One usually doesn't have a choice in the matter." Mega responded, firing a pair of Dive Missiles up into the craft with similar success. "Wily never did, at leAUGH!" He dived to the side mere milliseconds in time as the huge claw on the Falling Hand's underside smashed down where he had been and clamped shut. Mega shuddered; he didn't want to think about what that thing would have done if it had succeeded in catching hold of him.

"Almost got you there, Mega Man." Cossack smiled dimly, trying again. "Keep your focus, or you'll never win..."

"Shut up." Mega snapped, giving him a dose of the Acid Rain, followed by the Flash Stopper. Neither seemed to be effective either. "Just shut up right now. I don't need battle advice from you... I've been through more than you could ever imagine. And you, YOU dump more on me, three years after it all finally ended... and now you have the GALL to try and give me advice?! You should tend to your own business... if you had done that from the start, neither of us would even BE here now!"

"Dwelling on the past will get you nowhere, robot." Cossack sighed heavily, moving the Falling Hand away to fill the air with plasma once more. "I have made my choice. You have made yours. All that remains is to see which one of our choices was the better one. Nothing more."

"Which one of our choices, eh..." Mega stood still, apparently deep in thought for a moment, before lunging forward suddenly, flinging a fully charged Pharaoh Wave. "That's easy, Cossack. My choice was to protect... yours, to harm. It's obvious which one will triumph in the end!" The Pharaoh Wave did no damage, but it was followed up by a pair of Ring Boomerangs, which sliced into the hull. "You see my point? Even this monstrosity can, and will, be destroyed. If you require further proof... just look at both of us! I'm going to bring this Rebellion to a stop forever, here and now... and you... you don't even seem to be caring about this fight!"

"Don't be so sure about your chance, Mega Man!" The russian robotocist reprimended his enemy. "Those stolen Boomerangs barely scratched my hull, and more important, you haven't been watching me! I have you now!" While Mega had been ranting, the Falling Hand had been edging close, until now, when it was right over and the claw was plunging. Mega smiled.

"Don't be so sure yourself." With a blue-white burst of light, the Skull Barrier was activated. _This is a big freakin' risk... if this one's ineffective as well, I'm going to be in a lot of pain. Please work, please work, please ARGH!!!_ It hadn't worked. Punching through the force field, the claw clamped onto Mega Man and retracted, raising him up, before smashing him into the ground with the force of a major league pitcher's fastball. Mega Man slowly pulled himself out of the crater that had been made with his body and drained an E-Tank.

"Okay. Priority number one: No more of THAT." Shaking his head to clear the stars, Mega hopped to the side. "Better stick to my buster... nothing else seemed to work as well!" He fired a charged shot and jumped onto a portion of the ground that was raised higher than the rest. Cossack shrugged and pulled the Falling Hand a few feet closer to the rail above before returning fire with more plasma.

"How many more of those little life preservers to you have, I wonder, little robot? Hmmm?"

"More than enough to take you down, little human." Mega retorted with both words and plasma. Cossack's cannons were numerous, but all they could fire were small shots. They lacked the plasma charging of the focusing crystal on the more advanced Skeeter or Mega's buster. Mega's own fire was slower and only came one at a time, but it was hands-down more powerful and accurate, each one slamming into Cossack's Falling Hand and burning in more damage each time. Slowly but surely, quality was winning out over quantity. Mega Man was winning.

"Perhaps another dose of this, then..." Cossack brought the Falling Hand above Mega once more, but the blue hero slid out of the way of the descending claw, and it only grasped air (and another charged shot).

"Nice try, but I've got your number now." Mega informed his foe as he charged another blast. "Your claw can't catch me, and your plasma can't hurt me... not effectively, at any rate. You can't win this, Cossack. Make this easier on both of us, and give up now. There's no point in continuing."

"Wrong..." Cossack hissed, trying to catch Mega again. "You are wrong. There is EVERY point in this... it is simply that you can not comprehend it."

"Oh, give me a break." Mega rolled his eyes from the other side of the room, where he continued his attack. "Again with the stuff about me knowing nothing. Pharaoh Man said the same kind of thing... and you know what I did to him."

"I do not care what happens to me any more..." Cossack whispered. "I don't care any more. It's all gone away... this war machine is all I have left..." He fired plasma once more, but Mega dodged, an annoyed frown now appearing on the hero's face as he switched to the one Master Weapon he hadn't yet tried on the doctor, the first one he had acquired in this Rebellion.

"What's with you, Cossack?!" Mega shouted angrily, launching a mass of the jamming crud into the claw. "I thought you were mad at the world, mad at me! You think you could try a little harder for 'vengeance!'"

"I see you have learned how to focus the Dust Crusher, Mega Man." Cossack responded bitterly, with no signs of even hearing what Mega had said. "Tell me, did you enjoy taking Dust Man apart? Did you enjoy that act of agression?!"

"I NEVER enjoy this, Cossack!" Mega slid under the next swipe from the damaged claw and fired again. "Do you think I was activated for the first time with thoughts of rampaging, destructive madness running through my mind?! NO! But as far as the world's concerned, I'm the only one around who can stop this crap from happening!" Suddenly, the Fallen Hand plunged downward and succeeded in catching the small blue robot in its pincer a second time. Instead of throwing him to the ground, this time the claw tightened, attempting to squeeze him in half.

"You don't understand..." Cossack whispered at a barely audible level, even as he increased the pressure. "I'm not doing this for pleasure either..."

"So then why ARE you doing this?!" Screaming, Mega Man fell as the Ring Boomerang he threw sliced clean through the weakened claw, severing it entirely. With a mighty thump, the Falling Hand's namesake and its mightiest weapon hit the ground, useless. Cossack closed his eyes.

"I must..."

"Bull..." Mega Man closed his eyes as well and lowered his head for a moment... but when he raised it, there was nothing in his face but the fire of rage. "That's total bolshevik. You always have a choice to commit the actions you're performing... ALWAYS! When Wily died, it was finally over. I was finally FREE of the curse he'd given me... of being this... HERO..." He turned to the Dust Crusher once more, pointing his buster at the frozen craft, locked in place ever since the severance of the claw. "But no, you had to go and take that away from me, you goddamned maniac..." Cossack's eyes flew open in sudden, raw terror.

"Mega Man, no! My craft... if you strike me now, I will die!" That straight fact, and that alone, stopped Mega from firing at the Falling Hand. The shot of Dust Crusher streaked past and hit the wall behind the war machine. Mega stayed there, frozen as well, for several stunned moments before he spoke again.

"Then it seems we're at a stalemate, Cossack. If I fire at you again, you die. At the same token, you can do nothing more to attack me." His eyes still burned, but they held no immediate threat. Cossack nodded shakily, his own eyes barely visible through sweat-covered glasses.

"Then... I suppose we'll end up staring each other down."

With a familiar whistling melody, the ceiling exploded anyways.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Mega Man and Cossack both screamed simultaneously, staring up at the explosion. A moment later, Melee Moth swooped down through the falling debris, a red and grey armored figure riding on its back.

"I _love_ surplus!" Proto Man announced jubilantly, striking a pose with one hand while keeping firm hold on the Moth's back with the other.

"...Do you know who that is?" Dr. Cossack asked in a deadpan voice, staring at the spectacle. Mega Man nodded without breaking his gaze from the same, and spoke in a monotone that would have done the early twenty-first century game show host Ben Stein proud.

"Yes. That is my brother."

"I see." Cossack nodded back. Proto Man took in the situation and immediately signalled Melee Moth to stop, all humor instantly fading from his face, replaced by an incredible amount of weariness and relief.

"Man... got here just in time, I see. Good thing we took this thing... never would have got here if we had come in the straight way."

"We?" Mega blinked. For the first time, he saw that something-someone?-else was clinging tightly to Proto Man's chest, held safely between him and the Moth. She tugged on his scarf as the elder Robot Master nodded.

"Yeah, bro. We. Cossack... stand down. I've got your kid... Kalinka's no longer under his control." Cossack's eyes widened and filled with tears, hands sliding away from the controls.

"Ka... Kalinka?" The small human girl with Proto Man looked back, crying, as he jumped down to the ground and set her on her feet.

"Father?" Mega looked back and forth between them several times before losing it.

"Does ANYBODY want to tell me what the HELL is going ON HERE?!" He looked carefully at his brother and choked; wounds from heated battle lined his torso everywhere. "My god, what happened?!"

"Simple, bro." Proto sighed, slumping down onto his rear. "Cossack here was right about what he said. He DID have no choice but to call you in. He was under... orders... to do so... and being blackmailed to do so. By means of this pretty little package here... Kalinka Cossack, daughter of Kalinka Romanov and Sergei Cossack. His only daughter." Kalinka suddenly took in the situation as well, and she turned to Mega Man with a heartwrenching cry.

"Don't hurt my father!" Mega was too stunned by this sudden revelation to remind her that he couldn't; he simply stepped away, returning to his normal colors. Popping open the plasteel dome, Cossack pulled himself free of the Falling Hand and dived to the ground, openly sobbing as he pulled his daughter into an embrace that looked as if he would never let go. Looking at them more closely, Mega almost had a processor attack at Kalinka's condition. Dull, pale, thin, malnourished... she looked like a corpse already. Where she had found the strength to survive... Mega Man could not know. Noticing his brother's face, Proto Man nodded, clenching his fist and his teeth grimly.

"Yeah... we're just lucky your daughter has a lot of spirit, Cossack... that was all that's got her here now. I can't believe the conditions she was being kept in... it's inhuman... not even dogs deserved the torture she got."

"Is this true, Kalinka?" Cossack weeped. Kalinka looked into his eyes for a moment, then turned her head to her savior.

"No, father... he was wrong about what kept me alive. It wasn't my spirit... it was him. Blues saved my life, father... he saved it a million times over and risked his own every second of it. He is why I live... why we are here... oh, daddy... daddy..." And then she could say no more through her tears.

"But..." Mega Man finally erked out some words through his shock, his disbelief at finding that Dr. Cossack had been manipulated all along. "But then... that... but who... who did this..."

"Who..." Cossack murmured. His head came up from his daughter's shoulder and stared straight into Mega Man's eyes, into his soul, with bitter hatred that was not for him. "Who did this, you ask? The man who you failed to destroy at the end of the Third Robot Rebellion." It was then... at that precise moment... that Mega Man knew. Knew, beyond all doubt, beyond all denial, who it was, even though it defied everything he had believed for three years. He already knew, even as he turned around... even as a teleportation beam streaked through the hole in the roof, even as it hit the ground and formed into a human shape that Mega had thought was gone forever.

Dirty labcoat over brown slacks. Thin, gaunt frame. Wild white hair that Albert Einstein at his worst couldn't match splitting around a bald dome, with an equally wild mustache below. Sunken, insanity-filled eyes and a twisted scowl.

**_WILY._**

"So you have betrayed me, Break Man!" Dr. Albert Wily, the maniac who had tried to conquer the world thrice before, spat. "Damned Advanced Robot Master... I should have known you would ruin everything! Pity that I never killed you when you first came to me!"

"Pity that WE can't kill you right now." Proto Man responded. "You deserve it a hundredfold. Consider yourself lucky that we ARE Advanced Robot Masters... because if it weren't for the First Law, I would blow a hole through your chest right this instant."

"Big words coming from a machine!" Wily laughed at this threat before turning to Mega Man. "Hello, Rock! Surprised to see me, after all this time?"

"You..." Mega Man growled, face twisting in undescribable fury. "You're alive... you lived... YOU did all this..."

"I know! It was a good piece of work, don't you think?" Wily cackled nonchalantly as if talking about a new robot design. "I loved how it turned out! The only flaw was at the end... but oh well, nothing's perfect!"

"You... you..." Words now failing him, Mega began to stalk towards the despised doctor, then suddenly ground to a halt as the First Law flashed across his vision in glowing red. Wily shrugged, the smile not leaving his face for an instant.

"Oops! Forgot something there, did you? You're still a robot, Mega Man! No matter what I do, who I BREAK..." He glanced over at Kalinka, who was now standing alone, staring at him in total terror. "You can't lay one finger on me. I've got another Skull Fortress for you, though! I'm sure your traitorous brother there will tell you where it is... but remember, even if you get to me... you can't hurt me. Makes the whole thing rather one-sided, don't you think? You can't hurt me... but I'm going to break YOU next, Mega Man!"

"He is quite correct." Another voice, with a thick russian accent, agreed. "You cannot hurt him, Mega Man... however, one thing seems to have escaped your notice, Albert." Dr. Wily turned around in surprise to see the speaker standing right behind him... and Dr. Sergei Cossack delivered an uppercut that would have knocked out an ox. "I. AM. NOT. A. ROBOT." Wily went flying, blood streaming freely from his nose, and with a scream of pure, feral hatred, Dr. Cossack dived upon him, murder written on his face. He didn't give the madman a single second of quarter; immediately, he began smashing Wily's head against the ground. After two impacts, the older man's fist snapped up and knocked Cossack away for a moment. A moment, no more; without any time for recoil, Cossack returned the blow, and they tumbled across the ground, bashing on each other in the oldest style of fighting known to man.

"Whoa!" Blues started to get up, driven by the first law, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. The red-armored robot looked up into his younger brother's eyes.

"No... let them go. Cossack deserves this..." Mega Man watched the two doctors grapple at each other with no emotion at all showing on his face. He was like a statue. "And besides... look at how they are. We wouldn't be able to pull them apart without doing damage to them ourselves... and with our robot strength, likely we'd have to hurt them more than they're hurting each other. That keeps the First Law off our backs." Blues stared at him for a moment longer before nodding and looking back to the fight.

"You... think... you can beat... ACK!" Wily's speech broke off as Cossack kicked him in the stomach. The younger man bared his teeth in a savage grin.

"I don't think, maniac... I KNOW." He followed the kick with an elbow to Wily's back, then spun away as Wily's fist smashed into his chin. Over in the corner, Kalinka Cossack watched, her face no longer showing terror, but determination every bit as savage as her father's.

"Get him, daddy..." She whispered as she watched her tormenter, the man who had sentenced her to a slow, tortuous demise, being mercilessly beaten to a bloody pulp before her eyes.

"Should we..." Blues started to say, the First Law starting to pop up again despite his brother's reasoning, but Mega waved him down.

"No. Cossack's got it under control. Look for yourself." Indeed, the tide of the fight was turning. Right at first, after he had recovered from the surprise assault, Wily had given as good as he had got with fists, feet and even teeth, the weakness of his advanced age balanced by the effects of Cossack's fight with Mega Man. His sheer insanity had offset Cossack's raw rage at first... but as the minutes dragged on and both men's injuries became more and more numerous, Wily began to tire... but Cossack showed no signs of faltering. Indeed, he seemed to grow only more infuriated with every drop of Wily's blood that he spilled. Growing desperate, the older man got a hand free and pulled a handgun from his labcoat pocket, but Cossack seized his wrist, threw Wily bodily to the floor, and pounded the appendage against the ground until the madman's fingers could not grip it any more. With one kick, Cossack sent the gun spinning away.

"You forced me to start this Rebellion..." Dr. Cossack whispered, pulling the despised maniac to his feet. "You made me your puppet..." He forced their heads together in a headbutt with a sickening crack. "You kidnapped my daughter..." His glasses fell to the floor, revealing bloodshot eyes focused in singular hatred of the man before him. "You almost killed my daughter..." His hands snapped around Wily's neck. "I'LL KILL_ YOU!!!_" Teeth bared, he tightened his hold around the madman's throat. Wily's own hands grabbed Cossack's arms and tried with the strength of one in fear of his very life to pull them off, but it was to no avail; the younger, stronger man was forcing every last ounce of power his muscles possessed into throttling Wily, into killing him. This was too much for Proto Man; no matter how much he tried to resist it, he was forced to his feet, and with a sigh, Mega joined him. But as they began walking forward to stop the fight, their eyes suddenly saw something that made them run instead. Wily's left hand had let go and thrust into his other labcoat pocket, pulling out a device that Mega Man and Proto Man both recognized all too well. A teleporter.

"NOW!" Darting forward, Mega and Proto each grabbed one of Cossack's arms and pulled him off. A moment later, Wily vanished, streaming into the sky once more. Had the Robot Masters not grabbed Cossack, he would have been caught in the blast, his brain scrambled like Wily's... but he fell to his knees nonetheless and released a wail that shook the heavens.

"_NOOOOOOO!!!!"_ And then he slumped forward, crying anew, a broken man who had been denied even his vengeance upon the madman who had ruined his life. Kalinka ran to him, and he remained there, silently sobbing into her hair. Proto Man just looked at them, his eyes filled with sorrow as well behind the shades. And Mega Man... his gaze was skyward, following the teleportation until it disappeared, hands clenching and unclenching spasmodically.

**_WILY._**


	15. Chapter 14: The North Skull

**__**

Chapter 14: The North Skull

"Is she stabilized?" Were the first words on Blues' lips once Dr. Cossack emerged to meet the robot brothers again. After Wily had fled, the russian robotocist had taken his daughter to his own living quarters in the castle, leaving Rock and Blues in a lounge-like room. Neither of them had turned on the television; they had simply removed their helmets, sat on the couch and waited. It had been an hour. Now, Cossack's face looked very tired, but strangely calm. Rock was willing to bet that the Cossack had taken some kind of sedative for himself, but his hands still shook.

"Yes. Kalinka is asleep... and she is out of immediate danger. She will live... something for which I must... thank you, Blues." He crouched onto his knees. "I owe my daughter's... and my own-"

"Stop that." Rock interrupted sharply. Though his helmet was off, his eyes still held the particular hardness that was always there during the Rebellions. "Get up. That makes you look like... HIM." Cossack immediately scrambled to his feet, and Rock looked away, the fire in his eyes dying. "Sorry... it's just..."

"I feel the same way." Cossack nodded. "Besides... I owe you more of an apology than I can ever give as well. Both of you... you have done more than you ever should have, one way or another because of me and my daughter. I made you fight once more, Rock... I tried to kill you. I made you fight another Rebellion. And Blues... you risked your life as well to bring my daughter back to me alive."

"You're wrong, doc." Blues shook his head. "It wasn't your fault. None of this was. You were just as much of a victim as those hostages the Robot Masters took, and your daughter moreso. The one, sole man who was responsible for this is Wily. Nobody else. It all comes down to him... almost always has, save for... well... nevermind."

"The Third Robot Rebellion, and Doc Man?" Cossack interjected. Rock looked at him in surprise.

"You know about him?"

"Wily told me everything about the previous Rebellions... he seemed to think it would help me put on a better show." Cossack shook his head. "I know it all... don't worry, though. Nobody else will learn of Doc Man." Blues nodded.

"Good. We want to keep that a secret... if the public learns that a robot, even an insane Advanced Robot Master abandoned by Wily, lost the First Law and killed all those Sennet guys of his own free will... well, let's just say it wouldn't be good. It's going to be a long, long time-if ever-before humans can accept robots without the Laws." He paused for a moment. "I assume your Robot Masters knew about Doc Man as well?" Cossack nodded. "Hm. If the rest of the family doesn't have any objections, you can tell Kalinka too... she knows more about this whole mess than anybody else already. But that's it."

"I think we can rely on her discretion as well as your own." Rock agreed. "Dad will agree as well. Roll would normally raise an argument about telling anybody who didn't already know, but I think she'll be glad to have another girl in on the secret." Cossack blinked.

"You trust me that much, just like that? After all I've done?"

"It wasn't you, really. I know that." Rock explained. "Wily had you by the throat. You did what you had to to save Kalinka... as a matter of fact, that's WHY I know we can trust you. In your position, if I was human... I can't honestly say I wouldn't do the same. You are a good man, Sergei Cossack, despite what you've done... and now that's just about over with." Cossack smiled sadly.

"Thank you... both of you. I... everything I have is yours. If there is anything I can do..."

"There is." Rock rose to his feet. "Do you have a stasis capsule around here? And the neccessary tools to repair Advanced Robot Masters?" Cossack slowly nodded after a moment.

"Yes... I still have the capsules my Robot Masters used back when they were staying here. And the tools for repair... they should work as well on Advanced Robot Masters as they do on normal ones, provided one of you assists me with the parts of your circuitry that I don't know."

"Good." Rock looked at his brother and the doctor. "Here's what we're going to do, then. You know where Skull Fortress IV is?" They both nodded. "All right. Blues, you get into a stasis capsule." He held up a hand to stop the older 'bot's complaint. "No. You've been on the run for two weeks... you're almost in as bad shape as Kalinka. There is no way in hell you're going anywhere dangerous, ESPECIALLY not Skull Fortress. Stasis capsule, Blues, and that's all there is to it." Blues looked at his feet and muttered a few choice words, but didn't argue. "I, however, don't have time for a rest. Doctor, I'll need you to do some quick repairs on me... that and an E-Tank, and I'll be ready."

"For Skull Fortress?" Cossack asked. Rock nodded.

"Got it in one. Doc, Blues, what do you know about it?" Blues thought for a moment.

"Well... I'd suggest avoiding the front entrance... probably way heavily guarded. Same with the hole I made busting Kalinka out... if it's not repaired, it'll have tons of sentries. No... the best way to get in is on the east side. Look for a reddish tower with a huge slot near the top of it. It's the only tower whose base isn't protected by the outer wall. If you can figure out a way to break in there, you'll be right into the Second Ring, skipping the first one entirely."

"There are four rings." Cossack continued. "The first one, encompassing most of the ground floor, is... was... guarded by the other Melee Moth." He glanced at Blues. "You'll have to tell me how you got that once we have the leisure. The second one goes through the east towers towards the center of the fortress, and the third from there to the west towers. The fourth ring... I'm afraid I don't know anything about that, or the other Guardians. Blues...?" The elder robot shook his head.

"Sorry, I'm afraid not..."

"That's okay." Rock smiled faintly. "That's more than enough. All I need now is some way to break into that tower..."

"That, I do know." Cossack turned to a console in the wall and keyed in some instructions. "I've got a powerful bomb here. It's large, heavy, and it's not robotic, so it wouldn't be much good for fights, but it can do quite a number when it comes to structural damage. After your repairs, I'll show you how to use it."

"Excellent." Rock nodded. "I guess we should get started on that, then..."

"Wait." Blues held up a hand. "Before I conk out... Cossack, what will you do after Rock leaves?"

"I will call the United Nations, and offer my complete and total surrender on the condition that they send in a Medevac helicopter for Kalinka." The russian robotocist decided firmly. "Once I am in custody, I will tell them everything."

"They'll find Skull Fortress IV as soon as you tell them where to look." Blues nodded in approval. "There's no way you'll catch the blame for this once the truth comes out... especially once me and Rock give testimony."

"I certainly hope so." Cossack sighed. The elder robot clapped a hand onto his shoulder.

"It'll be okay. Oh, one more thing... if you don't mind, I'd like to use your phone for a moment..."

"..." Roll didn't say a word as her father descended the staircase in the morning. She simply sat in her chair, tapping her foot at a rapid pace, as she had been doing for several hours before. Dr. Light walked past her to the coffee pot and didn't speak until he had downed a good amount of the liquid.

"Uh... morning, Roll."

"How could you sleep?" Roll mumbled, staring at her feet. "With Rock out there at Cossack's... putting his life on the line more than with any of the Robot Masters... and he's still not back..."

"How could I sleep, Roll?" Dr. Light looked into his mug for a moment. "The answer... I trust Rock. I trust him to succeed and to come back alive... I know, beyond all doubt, that he can... that he will do it."

"It must be nice to be able to reduce it to such simple terms..." Roll sighed, shifting her gaze to a window. "But I'm afraid I can't do the same. I worried too much... I didn't get an ounce of stasis last night."

"Oh, I worried myself." The elderly robotocist assured her. "It's just that after a while, I dropped off at my desk. Got ink in my beard... fortunately it washed right out in the shower..."

"You never would have dropped off if it had been Wily again..." Roll said, half-accusingly, then. "If this was a Skull Fortress that Mega was at... you'd be just as restless last night as I was." Dr. Light thought about that for a second, then nodded in agreement.

"Yes... you're right, Roll. But this is not Wily... it's not a Skull Fortress. Cossack... he's a threat, he's the villain, yes. But he didn't have that same spark of lunacy that made Albert and Doc Man such worries. Without that... Rock is in no real danger compared to those times as long as he keeps his wits about him. And you know that he'll never fail in that regard."

"True..." Roll admitted. "But still... he's not back yet. Not even any news at all... I have to worry." A beeping noise near her foot made her smile briefly. "Well, at least you stayed up long enough for us to get that armor into Eddie..."

"True." Dr. Light smiled as well. "If... whatever gods there are forbid... there is a fifth Rebellion, Eddie will be able to take the heat enough to get in, deliver the goods, and get out. Like Rush, except Eddie doesn't dig up your azaleas."

"Fortunate. Eddie also doesn't get chased around the house with a shovel." The robotic girl commented. Further discussion was interrupted by the chirp of the vidphone announcing a call. She immediately ran over to it. "Source... no way. It's from Cossack's castle!"

"It's probably Rock, calling to tell us he's won the fight and Cossack's out." Dr. Light suggested. Roll nodded.

"I'll put him on." The screen flickered on, and they both jumped in surprise. It was not Rock's face on the screen. "Blues?!"

"Unless you know many other Advanced Robot Masters with penchants for shades and scarves." Blues cracked once before becoming serious. "Yeah. I'm here with Rock and Cossack."

"Is the fighting done?" Dr. Light peered over his daughter's shoulder. Blues chewed on that one for a moment.

"Weeeeeeell... yes and no. Rock and Cossack are done fighting... but there's still more fighting to be done. A lot more. But those two are finished... as a matter of fact, they're on their way to becoming friends, I think."

"...Huh?" Roll struggled to process that, unsuccessfully. "Wait... how... who... URRRGH. What are YOU doing there?"

"About to go into stasis." Blues responded pleasantly. "It's been a nasty couple weeks for me... trekking through the wilderness here with a little human girl. Then we blasted through the ceiling on a giant robot moth, and then..."

"Blues!" Roll interrupted him firmly and angrily. "You're just confusing us even more! Tell us what's going on, plain and simple, in the proper order!" Behind his shades, the exhausted Robot Master's eyes flashed.

"All right, FINE. You want to know what's going on, plain and simple, sis?! WILY'S ALIVE." That sentence hit the two Lights like a thunderbolt, and they both went chalk white, as still as statues. The mug tumbled from Dr. Light's nerveless grasp and shattered on the tile floor, spilling scalding coffee over both their feet. Neither of them noticed in the slightest.

"Albert... alive?" Dr. Light choked out finally. Roll was still too stunned to speak.

"Yeah. He's been behind this thing from the start." Blues continued to explain. "He's been jerking around Cossack the whole time using his daughter Kalinka as a hostage. I found this out and liberated her, then brought her here just in time to stop Rock and Cossack from killing each other. Right now, Cossack's performing some quick repairs on Rock... he's leaving for the fourth Skull Fortress within the hour."

"Another Skull Fortress..." Roll slumped to the floor. "Another Wily plot... it never ended... it was all a lie..."

"I'm afraid so, sis." Blues sighed. "Life sucks sometimes. You might have noticed I'm tired as hell, so I'm afraid I can't sugercoat this. Anyways, if you guys don't mind... call Vinkus and tell him to have the GDC check out these coordinates." He rattled off some numbers. "That's where Skull Fortress IV is... we figure if the GDC finds out it's there beforehand, they'll be much more amenable when Cossack calls them with his offer to surrender in exchange for a medevac for his kid. Which he's going to do as soon as Rock's off, so sooner is better."

"We'll handle it." Roll promised, rising. "You get some rest now, bro." Blues nodded and hung up. Dr. Light raised an eyebrow.

"Quick recovery..."

"I'm a robot." She told him primly. "Right now, moving and helping Rock takes priority. Once we've done all we can, THEN I can freak out and go into depression." She smiled briefly. "Sometimes it helps to have an overly logical side. Now, then. Let's call Vinkus... then get Eddie ready for warping."

"Skull Fortress?" Dr. Light asked, face grim. She nodded.

"Exactly. Rock's going to need all the help he can get."

Skull Fortress IV was, to put it in the nicest possible terms, an eyesore. Half-covered in snow but still visible, stone stairs led up to the front door which was gaping widely open, inviting entry. On either side, walls of brick and steel ran around the entire complex, barricading it as well as if it had been on another world; only one red metal tower was partially outside the wall. Behind the walls, metal towers of various sizes and colors rose, topped with massive weapons. There were even a pair resembling human femurs. And dominating it all on the front above the door was a familiar humongous skull shield leering down, with Dr. Wily's insginia etched on the forehead. To the right of the main entrance, a smaller, second door led inside.

"That must be where Blues broke in..." Mega reasoned from his spot on a hill half a mile off. "Wily fixed it up... looks like he wants me to go in there. Too bad for him, I've got other options." He hefted the huge black orb sitting next to him and started towards the outer tower. It took him fifteen minutes to move the explosive to the tower; fortunately, there were no robotic guards outside the fortress itself. The significance of this was not lost on Mega. "He's not trying to keep me out of the Fortress... he WANTS me to come in." Setting the bomb up against the outer wall, he dialed in instructions on a keypad. "I'll have to oblige him." Pushing the last button, he turned and ran away from the fortress. Half a minute later, there was an explosion loud enough to be heard back at Cossack's. Looking back, Mega waited for the smoke to clear, revealing a hole ten feet around in the tower wall. "All right... it worked. I'll have to thank Cossack for that..." Walking in, he began climbing up the piping inside. The walls were green tiled, and he made his way across silver pipes and yellow tanks.

"This tower must be for the water supply or something..." Whatever it was, it was packed with Metool robots, all with plasma-deflective helmets. Some just stood up and fired plasma bullets, some jumped around and spewed three-way shots, some spun and danced in place while emitting rapid-fire streams... they all fell to Mega's buster. Soon, he reached a hall connecting the tower to another one he had seen from the outside, a very tall light-blue. Glancing out a glass window bigger than he was, Mega observed an aquarium-like tank filled with water. He ignored it and moved forward to the next tower, destroying every Metool in his path. At the end of the hall, huge openings in both the ceiling and floor led on up or down the tower. Mega thought for a moment, then shrugged and jumped below. With a splash, he landed in crystal-clear water. Something sharp below caught his eye, and the blue hero twisted to avoid several deadly spikes. "Figures. Wily's still as repetitive as always... water always hides spikes with him." The underwater passage continued, sloping slightly downward. Mega guessed it would lead towards the center of the fortress. And the whole length was dotted with spikes of which just one touch would be fatal. "All right then... I'll use my usual as well. Rush!" Plunging into the water, the red dog immediately went into Marine mode. In the minisub, Mega was easily able to avoid the spikes as he destroyed more of the underwater Metools he had originally found in Dive Man's stage. Once on the other side of the tunnel, he found a switch in the wall.

"Pipe open/close? Hmm..." Rush grabbed it in his jaws and pulled it down. Immediately, the water began rushing back the way they came. Rush strained against the flow and quickly yanked the switch back up before whining. Mega smiled sheepishly. "Guess that was a mistake... eh?" Above, the pipe led upward, but the water had receded so that it stopped just above them. "Or maybe not... thanks, Rush." Dismissing the dog, he climbed a ladder out of the wet stuff. The next ladder up hung high up on the other side of the room. "No way over... or so it seems." A moment later, a metal block about three feet on all sides suddenly appeared, floating in the air. The blue hero groaned. "I knew it." One of Wily's oldest, strangest and most annoying tricks was the disappearing blocks. Using some technology only he knew, the blocks would appear and then disappear in the exact same spot, usually in groups of six, forming a makeshift "bridge" onward. Watching them carefully, Mega gauged their locations and timing, then jumped across to the ladder. Another set awaited him further up, this one above spikes. "First time was warmup... now they play for keeps." Fortunately, he was able to cross this one as well. The pipe turned horizontal again, and a few Metools left in some pools of water formed by cupped pipes later, Mega arrived at a metal shutter. "Time to see what kind of Fortress Guardian Wily has for me today..." Inside the darkened room, only one obstacle was waiting for him on the ground. A Metool's hard hat, lying on the ground. About twenty feet wide. Mega stared at it for a second before grunting and firing an uncharged shot, which bounced off.

"Thought so. Well, this is blunt enough..." As the Mammoth Metool raised its helmet, the blue hero delivered a charged shot right between the eyes and followed it with rapid-fire plasma bullets. Underneath the helmet, it looked just like an ordinary Metool; huge, staring eyes and a circular mouth over a pair of clownlike feet. The only unusual characteristic was a pair of ear-bolts. It stared at him for a moment, taking the fire without comment, then leaped into the air with surprising height for a robot the size of a mack truck towards Mega, who instantly backed up. The impact as it hit the ground in front of him knocked Mega off of his feet onto his rear. It also shook several normal Metools out of the rafters onto the ground, which immediately charged at him, while the Mammoth Metool lowered its helmet, becoming impenetrable once more. Mega wiped out the normal Metools, then stared at the ground; the Mammoth Metool had created a crater as wide as itself in the metal flooring.

"Good grief... if that thing lands on me, it's game over. Better pick this up..." Switching to the Dust Crusher, he waited until the Mammoth Metool revealed its face again, then began liberally spraying it with crud. After patiently enduring this for a few seconds, it jumped again, and Mega slid under it and out of the way. Again, normal Metools fell from above, and Mega was busied with exterminating them while the leader hid. The third time it showed itself, Mega was ready with Ring Boomerangs, and deftly sliced off one of the earbolts. When the Mammoth Metool hit the ground this time, Mega was ready; he jumped to avoid being stunned by the shockwaves, and was thus able to remove the other earbolt before the Metool lowered its helmet. "Almost there now..." The Mammoth Metool raised its helmet one last time to behold Mega Man holding a massive ball of solar energy over his head. It did not react in anger or fear; it simply stared, accepting its fate, as the Pharaoh Wave ripped into one side of the head and continued through to exit the other. The only sound it made was a sigh as the burned-out husk collapsed beneath the heavy helmet.

"Well, that wasn't too bad..." Mega decided as he moved towards the exit that lead onward. "Wily must've sent all his good Guardians to Cossack's... at least, I hope so... no clue how long I've still got to go."

"Order! Order!" Counciller Martel from the United States glared down at the assembled United Nations committee, which resembled nothing more at this moment than a school of piranha exploding over a dead cow. On the monitors of each and every one of their desks, the same image was showing. Skull Fortress IV, seen from satellite camera. Five minutes ago, Darwin Vinkus from Japan had called an emergency meeting and, with trembling hands and sweat-fogged glasses, revealed the Fortress. Following thirty seconds or so of complete and total silence, the room had shot to the opposite end of the audible scale, and had remained so ever since. Martel and Vinkus had tried to calm them down ever since, but their voices hadn't even been heard, and the American representative was starting to lose his almost legendary patience. One representative attempted to tackle another, and even though it failed miserably (since to each other, every other counciller was a hologram), that was the last straw. Ripping open his desk, Martel pulled out a compressed CO2 air horn and sounded off. The 120-decibel shriek caused even the most bersek member to clutch their ears and stop talking. Martel waited for the screams of pain to die down before glaring at all assembled with contempt. "We WILL have order!"

"I believe the point has been established, Counciller Martel." Vinkus replied weakly. "Could you at least have warned ME first? I didn't have time to get my earplugs out."

"Even if I had, you wouldn't have been able to hear it over that clamor." Martel sighed and put the horn away. "Ladies and gentlemen, now moreso than any other time, we MUST remain calm. We are not some classroom of first-grade students, erupting in disorder while the teacher's out. We are the United Nations Council, people! We represent the entire world here, and we can NOT dissolve into that kinda of chaos, no matter WHAT happens! Am I understood?" The other members muttered their agreements, and Vinkus laughed cynically.

"Edmund, were you ever a drill sergeant?"

"Not now, Darwin." Martel steepled his hands. "Very well. The evidence on all our screens is as clear as a sliding glass door, and as blunt as a brick to the face. Another Skull Fortress, running in full operation, can mean only one thing. Doctor Albert Wily is alive and unwell." He glanced at Vinkus. "Counciller Vinkus, you were the one who called this emergency meeting, and who presented this... evidence, I suppose you could call it. How did you become aware of its existence?"

"By means of a phone call shortly before the assembly." The Japanese representative explained. "The call was from Doctor Thomas Light and Roll Light. They politely requested that I have a satellite zoom in on a specific set of coordinates, and that it held information of the most vital importance to the Rebellion. Even though Mega Man had already left for the castle of Doctor Sergei Cossack to bring an end to said Rebellion, I valued the word of the Lights enough to check it out. This is what I found... in Russia, approximately north of Cossack's castle. I immediately called this meeting in order that the rest of you may see this as well." Another counciller, from France, politely raised his hand.

"Speaking of Cossack... has there been any word from him or his castle since Mega Man departed?"

"No official news, no." Vinkus shook his head. "However, there is fairly strong evidence that Mega Man has left that location for Skull Fortress." The french representative frowned.  
"And that would be?"

"The gaping hole in the east wall." Vinkus answered dryly. At that moment, Martel's desktop phone sprang to life. He stared at it for a moment before answering.

"What? Oh... yes? Yes? I see... I suppose... very well, just a second..." He covered the mouthpiece and looked at the council. "Ladies and gentlemen... Doctor Sergei Cossack requests to speak with the general assembly over the holovid. Do any object?" None did. "All right... put him on..." A moment later, the bearded robotocist's now-familiar face appeared on the viewscreens, looking tired and defeated.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the United Nations, I.... I assume that you have already discovered the existence of Skull Fortress IV. With that in mind, I would like to offer my complete and total surrender... on one simple condition."

"And that would be?" Martel asked warily.

"That a Medevac helicopter be sent to my castle, where it will be permitted to land safely, and bring a patient to the nearest hospital. Once that is done, I will place myself in your hands."

"May we ask who this is for?" The english representative asked before anybody could stop her. Cossack sighed.

"It... is for my daughter, Kalinka Cossack. She has been kept in extremely poor conditions for some time now, and requires immediate medical attention. I care nothing for myself as long as she is safe."

"Doctor Cossack." Vinkus' tone was respectful, but deadly serious. "I must ask... is it true that Doctor Albert Wily remains alive?" The question hung in the air like a bad smell for a moment before the russian robotocist nodded.

"I am... afraid so. Albert Wily has been alive since the Third Robot Rebellion, and remains so at this moment."

"Then... was he the one responsible for... for your daughter's condition?" Vinkus stopped himself from saying _for this Rebellion _at the last moment. Again, Cossack nodded after a moment.

"Yes."

"I believe we have only one more question before we vote on your offer, Dr. Cossack." Martel looked directly at the screen. "Where is Mega Man, at this moment in time?"

"He is currently at Skull Fortress IV, attempting to bring Wily to justice."  
"Thank you, doctor." Martel nodded. "We will have an answer for you in a moment." The vote took less than sixty seconds; it was a unanimous yes on accepting the terms. "Very well. Doctor Sergei Cossack, the United Nations accepts your surrender. A medevac helicopter will be arriving shortly, to bring your daughter to a hospital in New Amsterdam. It will be accompanied by law enforcement to bring you to the same city for your trial."

"Thank you... all of you. And for what it is worth... I'm sorry." Cossack bowed his head in gratitude. Martel inclined his head in return.

"Am I correct in assuming that Rock Light will be appearing at your trial to speak on your behalf, if he survives?"

"I have the fullest confidence that he will... and his brother, Blues Light, will as well." Cossack answered. This caused a few eyebrows to be raised, but there was no other commentary, save for Vinkus, and he spoke only under his breath, so that none could hear him.

"Very well... and may whatever gods exist in this cursed, robot-filled world have mercy on your soul, Cossack..."

"Let's see... three tunnels..." Mega surveyed the hall ahead; three low tunnels that he would have to slide through, in a staricase succession. "Let's go with the highest." Sliding through, he emerged onto open air, and was barely able to clutch onto the edge of a ledge and pull himself up before falling on the spikes below. "Phew... close one. Good thing I didn't take the low tunnel..." Jumping over a low wall of the same spikes, he grabbed onto the rungs of a ladder and climbed down. The next few rooms down also had spiked floors, with small holes that he had to drop down to reach the next one while dodging ladybug robots trying their utmost to slam into him and knock him to his death. By the time he made it to the bottom, he would have been sweating bucketsful had he the glands for it. Instead, he just shook his head and kept going forward, using pods of the Rain Flush to clean up the buzzaw Gabyools. A ladder hanging far over a spike-filled pit at the end of the hall was easily surmounted with the Balloon utility, and in the next room up, Mega found a welcome surprise from an old friend.

"Eddie?!" He stared. "What are you doing here?" The little brown suitcase robot turned around, saw him and ran forward, beeping happily.

"Beeeep!"

"Heh... yeah, I'm glad to see you... at least one friendly face here." Mega smiled. "You DID get the armor upgrade already, right?" Eddie nodded. "Good! Whaddaya got for me?" Flipping his top, Eddie revealed an E-Tank. "All RIGHT! Idunno where you got this, but thanks!" Mega pocketed it. "When you get back, tell the others I've got the situation completely under control. Wily's going down." Eddie nodded and departed, and Mega continued up and then right, through another passage connecting towers. Mummiras like from Pharaoh Man's caves popped out of the wall and attempted to run interference, but didn't succeed in much aside from being annoyances. Climbing to the top of the next tower only took a few minutes after he had arrived there. "Let's see... by my calculations, I should be at the top of that tower with the satellite dish... so this passage should be taking me into the red one with the huge cannon..." He frowned as he saw an annoyed-looking robot that resembled a giant lottory ball machine glaring at him from the other side of a bed of spikes. The large robot had a plasma cannon in its mouth and could launch the lotto balls like bombs, but it wasn't able to knock Mega onto the spikes before it was destroyed. Another one a little ways behind it was no more successful, and with its destruction the next metal shutter was revealed.

"Wonder what's in here..." Mega muttered as he entered. He took one look and groaned. "I had to ask." On a slightly higher platform, the next Fortress Guardian glared down at him; a humongous piece of artillery in blood red. A very nasty-looking cannon jutted out of the front below the glaring eyes, and above them was a box-shaped port that looked like it would launch bombs. Which it promptly did. Running out of the way, Mega began peppering the Twin Cannon with plasma bullets. Each and every one bounced off harmlessly. "Grr... tough hull, eh? Well, let's try something different then..." Moving to the Drill Bombs, he tried the penetrating explosives, but their heads weren't able to penetrate the armor either. "Maybe some of THIS, then?!" Ring Boomerangs were unable to even scratch the armor. "What WORKS on you? Wait... maybe I need to look for a weak point..." He looked up at the Twin Cannon nervously, and it glared back. "Lotta looking to do... and YOWCH! Still gotta dodge those bombs! Think logical, think... oh, I know..." Snickering evilly, he released his full stock of Rain Flush pods and watched the Twin Cannon closely. One spot seemed to be affected slightly more than the rest... right below the bomb-launching port... "Aha!" Turning on the Balloons, Mega created one and jumped on. At which point the Twin Cannon used its other weapons. The massive barrel came to life and spat out a fireball bigger than Mega. Yelping, the blue hero dived off his Balloon as it was incinerated instantly.

"That... is a problem." Frowning, he created another Balloon. This time, though, the moment he jumped on it, he made another on a higher level, and jumped from the first to the second, which was above the front cannon's firing level. "Aha!" Set right below the bomb launcher was a small green bulb. "The weak point's that, eh?" He gave the bulb a double-barrel shot of Drill Bomb, then stared up at the Twin Cannon's own bomb. "Aw, crap." The explosion sent him flying straight into a fireball. Wincing, he picked himself up off the ground. "Oh, this thing is SO going down..." Running to the back of the room, he fired several more Drill Bombs at the space where the bulb was, then created another pair of balloons. Jumping up them, the blue hero formed a Ring Boomerang in each hand and, bellowing like some norse god, leaped at the bulb. The flash of light as it shattered was almost as bad as the Flash Stopper, but the Twin Cannon instantly died, the pupils in its eyes fading. Mega landed neatly on the ground and nodded.

"That bulb must have controlled the entire apparatus... when it broke, so did the rest of it, I guess. It's all slag now, though..." Looking around the room, he scratched his head. "Now, I just gotta find the way outta here..."


	16. Chapter 15: The Man Who Should Have Died

**__**

Chapter 15: The Man Who Should Have Died

"How nice of Wily to leave this little supply depot here for me." Mega muttered. Finally, he had discovered a manhole behind the Twin Cannon. Below it, at the top of a long vertical shaft, were several large Weapons Energy capsules, just lying there for him. "All weapons at full... I bet I know what's down here..." He climbed down the shaft, destroying shield-masked jetters, spinning cocoon-bots, and buzzsaw Gabyools. Anything and everything in his path was melted down into slag instantaneously. At the bottom, a simple metal shutter awaited him. Behind it was a familiar-looking glass capsule. A teleport pod. "I knew it... Wily's nothing if he's not predictable." Stepping inside, he emerged from its counterpart above another vertical shaft, this one straight down with no obstructions. On the other side of the gap, a second teleporter pod faced him, this one smashed and broken beyond repair. Mega shrugged and jumped down the shaft. He landed in a room containing eight pods. "The Teleporter Room." Each of those pods, Mega knew, would teleport him to a room containing a copy of one of the Robot Masters. And he would have to destroy all eight again in order to go on to Wily. Shrugging once more, he chose one of the pods at random and entered.

"Mega Man!" Drill Man greeted him. "You shall not leave this room alive!" With that, he dived into the ground. Mega immediately readied the Dive Missile, and the moment the red Robot Master emerged, he recieved several homing missiles to his weakest spots. Knocked back, Drill Man steadied himself, leaped towards Mega Man, then landed behind him and immediately spun to fire Drill Bombs. Unfortunately for him, he was not aware of the Dive Missiles that had been launched during his jump. A moment of pain as they hit his back, and then nothingness. Mega walked back into the teleporter pod he had entered by and was taken back to the Teleporter Room. He chose another pod.

"Ah, hello!" Bright Man smiled cheerfully. "Nothing personal, but we're going to have to fight to the death now. Shall we go?"

"Sounds good to me!" Sliding under Bright Man's leap, Mega launched a Rain Flush pod into the air. The wash of acid rain it released was seconded by another even as Bright Man responded with his plasma cannon. Mega jumped and dived with a bored look on his face, not a single bullet hitting him. This was not lost on Bright Man, who frowned before lighting up the bulb on his head. Mega screamed and clutched his eyes. "Ha! I've got you... now?" The bulb-headed Robot Master stared as his enemy fired another Rain Flush pod without need for eyes. A moment later, he never saw anything again. It took several minutes for the effects of the Flash Stopper to wear off so Mega could go on to the next Robot Master.

"So we meet again, little blue one..." Skull Man sneered. "Are you ready to face your death?" Mega snorted.

"Yeah, right. Let's get this over with, okay?"

"As you insist!" Skull Man began firing his plasma cannon. It took him only a moment to realize his opponent was packing a weapon that outstripped him like a bazooka to a handgun, the Dust Crusher. Swearing and clawing at the gunk that gummed up his working, Skull Man activated his signature Barrier. "Ha! See what you can do now!" Mega just leaned against a wall.

"Nothing, I'll admit... but you can't keep that up forever, and you can't hurt me with it. You're just hiding... you're afraid."

"I CREATE fear, fool! I do not suffer from it!" Skull Man snarled. Dropping the shield, he charged, knowing full well what would happen. He did not move after he slammed into the wall. Again, Mega exited and chose another pod. This time, he knew who it was even before he saw the enemy. The water was a dead giveaway.

"Let the battle commence!" Dive Man rumbled before launching himself at Mega like a torpedo. He rebounded off the Skull Barrier, and with a growl, repeated his attack with similar results. Dive Missiles could not penetrate either, but the dull-witted Robot Master simply continued to attack despite the obvious. It didn't take long before he bounced off and did not get back up, and Mega moved on to the next pod.

"Your chances of defeating us all are off the charts in the bottom direction, Mega Man!" Toad Man croaked. "Give up now!"

"Hold on here... lemme think about that for a moment..." Mega stroked his chin. "Ah... no. But I do have something I think you'll like..." He emptied a Drill Bomb into Toad Man's chest before the robot ribbit could jump.

"What the...?!" Croaking angrily, Toad Man leaped over Mega and prepared to call down the rain. Another Drill Bomb, however, stopped the rain dance cold. Before he could rise, a third finished the job, opening the way to the sixth fight.

"Oh... there you are." Dust Man sighed. "Might as well get this over with..." He began pulling Mega towards him. Mega just smiled as he pulled out his weapon.

"If I'm correct... this'll make you a real cut-up." He threw the pair of Ring Boomerangs directly into the vacuum hole above Dust Man's eyes. They emerged a moment later from the back, and the normally indifferent Robot Master's optics widened.

"AAAAH! How did..." He paused. "I should have known. You were able to defeat me without my weakness... obviously, you could with it. Nevertheless..." He fired the Dust Crusher even as two more Ring Boomerangs came in at neck level. Mega easily jumped the shot and watched his foe's head go sailing off. "Two left... and it figures they're the toughest of the lot... no helping it." He entered the next pod.

"Mega Man! Finally, I can destroy you!" Ring Man smiled darkly before slinging forth the same projectiles Mega had been using a moment before. Mega smiled back.

"Other way around, I'm afraid, hoop-head." Ring Man stared at the huge mass of solar energy accumulating above his opponent.

"The... the..."

"The Pharaoh Wave." Mega nodded before releasing the energy. Ring Man howled as it burned into his entre body. As soon as it had dissipated, he charged, swinging his blades wildly. Mega just jumped him and threw several ordinary Pharaoh Shots into his back, finishing the job. "One to go." Selecting the Bright Stopper, he took the last teleporter. "Pharaoh Man."

"Mega Man." The egyptian-themed Robot Master nodded perfunctorily. "I assume by your choice of weapon before even entering that I am the last one?"

"Indeed." Mega nodded. "The last of Cossack's Robot Masters." Pharaoh Man smiled a bit sadly.

"Incorrect. We are not the Robot Masters built by Sergei Cossack. We are copies constructed by Albert Wily for the sole purpose of this room. We have no existence outisde of it."

"Really?" Mega looked sad for a moment as well, then shook his head. "Well then... nothing personal, but now I don't have to feel so bad about THIS!" Before the copy of Pharaoh Man could unleash the Pharaoh Wave he had been charging while they were talking, Mega blinded him with the Flash Stopper. Events proceeded as could be expected from there. Returning to the Teleporter Room, Mega smiled grimly as a section of one wall opened up, revealing a ninth teleporter pod. "Wily... for what you've done... you're going to pay more than ever before." Draining an E-Tank to restore all the energy he had lost, Mega stepped into the teleporter. He appeared... in the air outside. Landing firmly on the surface below him, Mega looked around and sighed.

"I suppose I should have expected this when I first saw these..." In Skull Fortress III, Mega had battled Wily in a massive mechanical monstrosity he called the Pinbot from atop a tower shaped like a human femur. Now, he was again standing on one of the grisly structures. The rushing sound of jets drew his eyesight upwards to the starry night sky, where a hangar in the side of Skull Fortress IV above him opened. From it, the newest Wilymachine emerged. An aircraft, with powerful jets on its bottom and back and a huge skullmask with a gaping mouth on the front.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! So, you killed Cossack's creations a second time!" The voice Mega had hoped he would never hear again screeched from the skull. "Good for you, hero! Now, it's time for you and me once again! Do you like my new Skull Jet? I worked extra-hard on it, just for you!"

"Those weren't Cossack's!" Mega shouted back. "Those were just fakes... symbols of what YOU did to ALL the Cossacks, both human and robot! Their oil and blood is on your hands, madman... and you'll be paying that price very, very soon!"

"Sounds like a threat!" Wily cackled. "Let's see if you can carry it out!" Lowering until it was only a few feet above the blue hero, the Skull Jet began emitting massive, six-foot-wide balls of purple energy that flew out of the jutting jaw before moving down towards Mega. The blue hero turned and ran, knowing how much damage even one of those would do if it hit. The Skull Jet followed at the same low altitude, firing the energy balls behind him. As he moved, Mega fired his own charged shots straight into the wide open mouth. The Skull Jet was clearly taking damage, and yet it persisted.

_This isn't making any sense,_ Mega thought. _Why doesn't it go any higher? It could pick me off a lot easier from high up, and put itself out of range of my attacks... unless..._ He stared at the skull. _Unless it can't! That jaw... it's in the way! If it goes too high, it won't be able to hit me accurately! But that also means..._ Without any warning, the blue hero did an about-face and ran TOWARDS the Skull Jet. Staying just close enough so that he could still fire into the mouth, Mega watched the energy balls sail over his head without hitting him every time, no matter how much the madman inside struggled with the controls and cursed.

"Damn it all! Damn YOU, Mega Man! If it hadn't been for this design flaw... then I would have been..." Suddenly, the entire skull exploded! "...Been unable to do THIS!" Behind the mask, the real front of the Skull Jet was a massive energy cannon below and a dome of super-tough plasteel above, with Wily visible inside the cockpit, demonic grin plastered across his face. "GOTCHA!" Too late, Mega realized he had been suckered; now, without the jaw in the way, the energy balls slammed into him several times. Screaming, Mega forced himself to run away, but he lost at least half his internal operations energy in the process.

"Wily... that's another one I owe you for!" Mega snarled, firing his buster at the cannon. Wily just laughed as the plasma shot was dissolved in the much more powerful energy ball.

"Idiot! You're trying to stop a howitzer with a squirt gun!"  
"Than taste it yourself!" Mega snapped, firing at the plasteel protecting the cockpit. Wily wagged his mustache insultingly as it was reflected as well.

"I'm afraid this is much stronger than ordinary plasteel, little hero! I learn from the past, which is more than I can say for you!"

"And what the hell is THAT supposed to mean, maniac?!" Mega retorted as he scanned the front of the Skull Jet for something, anything. He spotted a small blue bulb, just like the one on the Twin Cannon. _Look for a weak point._

"You thought I was dead! You actually thought that I was dead!" Wily laughed as he continued to fire. "Fool, you should have known that I cannot die! I cannot stop! You will never be-WHAT?!" He clutched his seat as the entire Skull Jet shook. Mega just shook his head as he fired another Drill Bomb into the bulb.

"You talk too much." Wily growled, then screamed.

"FINE, THEN! No more talk... only action!" Pulling the Skull Jet up to a higher height, Wily began blasting around the sky at high speed, raining death down upon the unlucky little robot below. Mega just shook his head disgustedly.

"You haven't learned a thing, Wily. If you had, you'd remember what happened the last time we fought on a tower-top..." With a whistle, Rush teleported in and transformed into a jetboard that his master stood on. "No matter how high you fly... I can always soar higher than you." Blasting into the air, he began racing around the Skull Jet, and the duel became fully aerial. The Skull Jet was larger and had the advantage of firepower, but Mega and the Rush Jet were easily smaller and more maneuverable. A field of energy greeted them as they entered the air, but Rush twisted and turned, avoiding each and every one of the energy balls as they grew steadily closer and closer to the target. For a moment, it looked like they were going to collide with the Skull Jet... but at the last second, they pulled away, raking the weak point with Drill Bombs. Snarling, Wily gave chase, but Mega and Rush outran him easily and made a tight turn to the Skull Jet's back. Unthinking, Wily tried to turn as well to open fire again, and left the bulb wide open. More Drill Bombs pierced the front of the Skull Jet. With a shriek of animal rage, Wily drove the Skull Jet forward in an attempt to smash his enemies like a bug on a windshield, but Mega Man leaped off of Rush and actually grabbed onto the energy cannon. Before the stunned Doctor inside could fire, the last of the Drill Bombs were released, and the Skull Jet began to descend, smoking and sputtering. Wily tried to make it go back up, but the controls refused to respond. With a horrible grinding noise, the Skull Jet was grounded on the towertop. Mega looked up just in time to see the plasteel dome pop open and a small escape pod fly out. Inside, Wily waved mockingly.

"Well done, Mega Man... well done indeed! But I hope you don't think it's over now... quite the opposite, I'm afraid! The real party has yet to start! I'll be waiting for you!" Laughing insanely, he piloted the escape pod into the hangar he had come out of. Mega Man stared after him, not even seeing the teleporter pod rise from the towertop next to him. Inside the blue hero's mind... something... something that had only surfaced rarely, that had only come to light in that awful moment after killing Doc Man when he had learned of the truth in Wily's "recovery"... and when he had known he would die, that the Ultimate War Machine, Gamma, was going to kill him, and all he could do was go down fighting with one last attack...

Something snapped.

Deep underneath Skull Fortress IV... beneath the snow and the steel and the ground... a mile deep in the ground, completely inaccessible, cut off from the outside world with no way in... a secret basement was buried. At one end was a teleporter pod, followed by a long drop... and then, a tunnel to one room. That was it. That was all that Mega Man found when he arrived. Dropping down the shaft without a word, he moved forward down the tunnel. Green worms dropped down every few feet, but he ignored them; with the Skull Barrier on, all they did was die and drop valuable energy capsules onto him. When he reached the end of the tunnel, he was at full internal operations energy. The metal shutter opened for him as if it had been awating his arrival. Indeed it had. He walked in, and it closed behind him trapping him inside. There was nothing visible... everything was pitch black. No light... no nothing. And it showed no signs of changing. Mega waited for the lights to go on, for Wily to reveal himself. It didn't happen. And then... there was the laughter.

"Hee hee hee hee hee... there you are, Mega Man! I was wondering if you had gotten lost!"

"Not. Likely." Mega Man grated from between clenched teeth. "It ends here, Wily. Forever. You will fall here and now."

"Just like the last three times!" The mad doctor's voice echoed from the dark. "You never learn, do you, ROCK?!"

"I am Mega Man." The blue robot replied. Wily made an indelicate noise.

"Call yourself what you like, little robot. The fact remains that your threats are as hollow as your spirit! What makes you think that, even if you do bring me down, this defeat will have any more impact than the last three?!"

"Because those times... I was fighting for my own life, and for the safety of the world." Mega whispered dully. "For an ultimately selfish reason... and for an abstract, faceless philosophical concept. This time is different... because right now, both of those could not be further from my mind. To use a cliche... this time, it's personal." He glared into the darkness as his colors changed. "I fight this battle for the Cossacks. For the people you yourself screwed with on a personal level... for the helpless pawns in your sick game. I will destroy whatever your last machine is with not my own weapon, but the mightiest weapon of the mightiest creation of Doctor Sergei Cossack, unleashed with all of our fury. The Pharaoh Wave." There was silence for a few moments after the challenge, and then laughter again... but this time, not mocking, but interested.

"Oh ho ho... well now. You are different this time, Mega Man... but are you stronger, or are you weaker? There is only one way to find out, and we both know it! Show me what you are talking about..." Suddenly, there was a flash of light. "SHOW ME THIS FURY YOU SPEAK OF!" All Mega Man could see in that brief flash was a small machine, barely bigger than Wily himself, and then he was struck from behind by a blast of energy. Rising back to his feet, he spun and threw a Pharaoh Wave where he had seen Wily, but there was no hit.

"Where are you?! Show yourself, lunatic!"

"I think not, robot!" The voice came out of the darkness, its source unable to be identified. "Why should I? The darkness is my advantage, and your fear!" There was another flash of light, and Mega saw the machine more clearly now; a blood-red capsule with jets supporting it. Wily was inside, huddled in a crouch, he teeth bared in a manic grin of hatred. And then he was hit again, without even seeing it. Again, he threw the Pharaoh Wave, and again there was nothing; Wily had moved. The third time, Mega did not look for his enemy, but rather for where the attack came from. He saw energy gathering around a point shortly before the telltale flash of light; when it occured, he saw something disappear. Something roughly the shape and size of Wily's machine.

"You're... you're teleporting! That machine's just a teleporter with a gun!"

"Correction, my little hero! An incredibly well-armored teleporter with a gun!" The mad doctor waved a finger, even though he knew Mega couldn't see. "I call it the Wilyporter! Genius, no?"

"Genius?! You're frying your own brain!" Mega howled at him. "Every time you teleport, more of your grey matter goes splat!"

"Oh, give up on that already." Wily snorted. "We've run THAT argument into the ground already, haven't we?"

"All right... then let me shed some light on things." Switching to the Flash Stopper, Mega Man illuminated the room. Immediately, he returned to the Pharaoh Wave and scored his first hit.  
"Lucky shot... but you won't be doing it again!"

"I tend to disagree." Mega took the purple and white colors again... and stared as his buster did nothing but sputter. "Huh?!" _Dammit, I must have used almost all the energy on this one up on Pharaoh Man! _Another energy blast smashed into him, and he was forced to drain one of his last two E-Tanks.

"And that puts you plain out of luck!" Wily howled triumphantly. "You can't see me, and you can't hit me without that! And your hopes that my teleportation will kill me are completely unfounded, I'm afraid!"

"Kill you..." Mega whispered, voice slowly rising. "Kill you?! It shouldn't have to! Nothing should have to kill you... because you should already BE dead! When Skull Fortress III collapsed on you, brought down by your own Ultimate War Machine! That should have been the end of it! YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED, WILY!" As the madman laughed in response, the flash of light revealed his location again, and for once Mega succeeded in hitting the craft with a Pharaoh Shot, even though he took another hit of his own.

"Oh, Rock... poor, stupid, little Rock... there are time you even surprise me..." Wily growled, now beginning to become angry. "Surely, I would think you would have realized by now that I will NEVER rest until you are DESTROYED!"

"That's not going to happen any time soon, you monster." Mega Man returned. "I don't know how you survived the annihilation of your last Skull Fortress... and I don't really care. But you shouldn't have... you shouldn't have come back... damn you, you shouldn't have come back!"

"Oh, so you're angry with me because I didn't want to die?!" Wily roared. "About TIME you feel the same way, you pathetic robot... I've felt that way about you since the beginning! That's all I have left! All I have left now is my rage... THAT'S ALL YOU LEFT ME WITH!"

"That's all you left YOURSELF with, you stupid maniac!" Sliding under a shot, Mega turned and tried to peg Wily once more, but again he was too slow. The next shot hit him in the back, and he forced himself to down the last E-Tank.

"It will never end, old friend!" Wily cackled, seeing victory in his grasp. "No matter how many times you stop me, no matter how many Robot Rebellions you quash... it will never stop! I will keep coming back, over and over... I will keep fighting you like now, keep forcing more and more pain on the world until they realize that YOU are the true problem! YOU are the reason this continues, Rock!"

"YOU'RE INSANE, WILY!" Mega Man screamed in despair, hurling a Pharaoh Shot wildly without bothering to even try and aim. "That... that will never happen... it's your fault, not... not mine..."

"It IS your fault!" The demonic old man shouted him down. "YOU are why I did all this! Had YOU died in Skull Fortress III, none of this would have come to pass! YOU are the one who should have died there, not me!" He began bringing the Wilyporter closer towards rock on it jets, slowly advancing. "But you can change all that now... just stop, give up. You can make all of this go away forever, old friend... and neither of us will ever curse the world again..." He grinned, seeing Mega Man falter.

"No... no, it's NOT my fault!" The blue hero fought his despair. "It's your fault... YOU did all this! I didn't make you do anything!"

"But you know there's only one way to stop it, and you will not take it!" Now fully confident, Wily turned the lights on a small, insignificant amount, just so that Mega Man could see him. "If you will not die, then I will never STOP! Until you are dead, until your name has been wiped clean from this miserable woebegotten planet and the feeble minds of its fleshy hordes, I will NEVER STOP!" He leaned forward in the Wilyporter and raised his hands. "Rebellion after Rebellion will be instilled, Rock. Innocents will suffer... like the Cossacks! Until I finally triumph!" He moved his hands, spiderlike, in a grotesque impression of a puppetmaster working his tools. "Cossack was a puppet, Kalinka was his strings! There will be OTHERS, Rock! _I WILL NEVER STOP!_"

"NOOO!!!" Springing back to life, Mega Man plunged the Pharaoh Wave into the Wilyporter, point blank. Hissing german curses, Wily teleported and knocked out the lights. But this time, when he fired, Mega Man turned and threw the Pharaoh Wave and hit dead-on. Wily's mad eyes widened as he behled his adversary, glowing with the Pharaoh energy.

"What...?"

"You ask what..." Mega Man hissed. "You miserable lunatic, you ask me WHAT? Your retribution! That's what, maniac!" Drawing back his hand, he flung another Pharaoh Wave and hit dead-on again as Wily fired once more. "You're not just fighting Rock and Mega Man, Wily... you're fighting all of the Cossacks along with him! That shot right there... that was for Sergei Cossack, and for all the suffering you made him go through for your crimes!" Spinning, he pegged the mad doctor another time. "And THAT one was Kalinka, and all the hell she endured because your mad dreams caught her!" He balanced a Pharaoh Wave on one finger. "This next one's a personal favorite! It's for the guy who willingly went through hell to try and fix what you did! My brother, Blues!" He threw the Pharaoh Wave, then stopped and glared into the darkness. "And the rest... these ones now, are one each, for each of the eight Robot Masters you twisted into another Rebellion they never wanted to take part in!" He punctuated each name with another hit, one after the other without even looking to see where Wily was, hitting him every time through some higher instinct. "Dust Man! Skull Man! Dive Man! Ring Man! Toad Man! Drill Man! Bright Man! And Pharaoh Man!" The last hit sunk in with a sizzle, and the Wilyporter began to smoke. The mad doctor recoiled as his controls caught fire, and the lights in the room flashed on. Wily stared forward with horror at the robot in front of him, holding a Pharaoh Shot in each hand.

"And there's two more... one for Rock, and one for Mega Man." Wily popped the hatch and flung himself out of the machine as his enemy threw. The Wilyporter could take no more, and with a screech, it careened into a wall and exploded. Wily fell to the ground, and with a groan, took up the now-familiar position of a bow... a grovel. Just like every time... and just as false, Mega knew. He started to walk towards the madman for a moment... then stopped as Cossack's words came back to him.

"_No matter how hard you try... you can not stop him. You can't kill him, Mega Man._" And no matter how bitter it was, Mega Man knew it to be true. Suddenly, Wily jerked his head up and shot his hated foe one last feral grin.

"This time, Mega Man... but the next time we meet..." Before Mega could stop him, he stood up, and a secret panel in the wall swung around, whisking him away. Roaring with rage, the blue hero tried to destroy the wall, but none of the weapons he had energy left for could do it. And then the klaxons that signalled the base had initiated self-destruct activated, and the entire structure of madness began to shake and quiver in its death knell. Mega Man had no words then... just a lump that rose up in his metallic throat and made him clench his fists up into balls. But common sense took over, and he warped himself free of the doomed Skull Fortress.

Skull Fortress IV was literally in the middle of nowhere. Humans had not inhabited the area in centuries, and the only sign of their habitation before was a single set of ancient train tracks that had somehow, inexplicably survived this long. Thus, there was nobody around to see as a blue-and-yellow flying saucer rose from Skull Fortress and flew away. There was nobody to see a blue streak of light rise from it moments later into the heavens. And there was nobody around to see as Skull Fortress IV exploded, scouring the area around it. But even though the evil castle was obliterated, the strangely blood-red smoke formed into the shape of another skull before dissipating, as if it was a harbringer of things yet to come.


	17. Chapter 16: Light In The Darkness

**__**

Chapter 16: Light In The Darkness

"Open up! Interpol!" A gruff shout accompanied the banging on the door of Cossack's Castle. A moment later, the massive, ancient stone ground open, revealing a dozen men outside with guns drawn. On the other side of the door was a single man in a white labcoat, with no weapons, hands above his head. The leader of the officers stepped forward and calmly cuffed him.

"Doctor Sergei Cossack, you are under arrest. You know your rights?"

"I do." The Russian robotocist nodded wearily. The officer smiled.

"Very well. I'm Inspector Dex Dustan. I'm sorry about this, doctor, but rules are rules, even though we all know what really happened." The other men nodded. "All right, men, put your guns down. I assume that all robotic defenses have been deactivated, doc?"

"Each and every one." Cossack confirmed, and Dustan waved towards a helicopter behind him.  
"Good. Hey, Mac! Get over here!" A moment later, a pair of paramedics marched up with an automated stretcher behind them. "Where's your daughter, Doc?"

"This way, please." Cossack turned and led them into the fortress. A few minutes in, he turned to an ordinary-looking wall and kicked a brick, revealing a secret passage. "This goes straight to my quarters. Kalinka is in there." Dustan nodded.

"All right. We'll take it from here." A few minutes later, they found her, lying on a rough mattress. "Miss Kalinka Cossack?" She groaned and stirred.

"Da..."

"We're here to bring you to the hospital." The paramedics lifted her onto the stretcher. She offered no resistance, slipping back into sleep almost immediately. Dustan shook his head sadly.

"Poor kid... I'd hate to see what she had to go through under that lunatic's control..." Sighing, he turned to go, then froze as he detected motion from a stasis capsule in the corner of a nearby room.

"What's all the racket going on here... geez, can't a guy get a decent nap any more? YOW!" A bullet ricocheted off the wall. "Okay, okay! Easy, officer! Look, I'm putting my hands up, see?" A pair of red-gloved appendages rose from the capsule, sure enough. Dustan didn't put his gun away.

"The doc said all robot defenses had been shut down..."

"And he was right." The voice from the stasis capsule chuckled. "I'm not a defense. My names Blues... Blues Light." The Interpol officer blinked and holstered his weapon immediately.

"Ahem! Sorry, sir... didn't know you were here." Blues didn't respond for a moment, then began laughing.

"Sir? Officer, I'm not a sir to anybody! I'm just a guy with a lot of bad luck." He groaned as he stepped out of the capsule. "Ah well, I've napped enough already. Officer, I assume you're here to pick up Cossack?"

"Yeah... he and his kid are headed for New Amsterdam. Him for detainment awaiting his trial, her for the hospital." Blues winced.

"Detainment?"

"They're moving the trial up as far as possible." Dustan assured him. "Don't worry. He'll be out of that courthouse before his daughter's out of the hospital."

"That's good to know, officer. Thanks. Nice to meet you, but I really should be getting back to my family." Waving one last time, Blues teleported away. Dustan watched the beam of light fly off, then harrumped and left.

It was one week since the destruction of Skull Fortress IV, and the trial of Dr. Sergei Cossack had just come to an end. Throngs of newsies were waiting outside the courthouse for the doctor himself to emerge. The door creaked open, and all of the people outside leaned forward. They blinked as a single, small brown robot walked out calmly and looked at them with wide eyes. A few of the reporters, who had tried to gain access to the Light domecile during the Third Robot Rebellion, knew what would happen next and prudently withdrew. The rest, however, simply stared as Eddie flipped his top and unleashed a barrage of high-velocity fruit. Amid much cursing and yelping, five other figures slipped out of a side door nearly unnoticed. Two adult human males and three of what appeared to be teenaged children, but were in fact Advanced Robot Masters.

"I can't believe they had the NERVE to slap ANYTHING on you!" Roll fumed. The expensive crimson dress she wore was matched by the color of her face. "After all you've gone through, all you've done, ANY decent person would know you'd had enough! But noooooooo! I HATE politicians!"

"Easy, Roll." Dr. Thomas Light attempted to calm his robotic daughter. The elderly robtocist looked aurprisingly natural in a suit, the only thing besides a lab coat and brown slacks he had worn in years. "You have to remember, these people aren't as close to the situation as we are... and I hate to say it, but..."

"But I did technically commit many of those crimes, yes." Dr. Sergei Cossack nodded, also in his best suit, looking for all the world like an ordinary handsome gentleman from the northeast. "Despite the fact that Wily was controlling me, the law did remain clear. I should consider myself fortunate that I got off as lightly as I did, all things considered. Those men inside did know the truth of matters."

"And community service isn't that bad, doc!" Blues smiled cheerfully. Despite repeated and very loud objections from his sister, the elder robot had insisted on wearing his shades and yellow scarf along with his own suit to the courthouse, drawing more than one strange glance from onlookers. "Especially working with us! Of course, there may be the occasional hazard to life and limb, but hey, them's the breaks!"

"And what would those be, my friend?" Cossack replied, looking amused. Blues shrugged.

"Oh, you know... tripping over Eddie and falling down a staircase, having Rush mistake your leg for a side of beef, being within a ten-mile radius of Roll if her favorite shows on the TV are cancelled... gack!" He choked as his sister calmly yanked on his scarf. "You see? Violent girl under normal circumstances, even worse when she gets angry! Take my advice. If she starts cursing at high velocity, get out of the house and run for the car as fast as possible."

"Truer words were never spoken." Rock laughed. As usual, now that the Rebellion had passed, he bore no traces of its effects, and seemed to be no more than a normal boy his age, happy to enjoy life. "Speaking of little girls, how's Kalinka doing?"

"Much improved." Cossack smiled. "I plan to go visit her once Interpol lets me go." He glanced over his shoulder at the two plainclothes officers who followed him at a respectful distance without a word. "Did any of you, by any chance, catch the specifics of that?"

"I did." Blues nodded. "I always keep my eyes and ears open. Right now, we have to head for the airport; there's a plane there that'll take us to Tokyo. From there, it's a train ride to near our place. As soon as you enter the lab, you're a free man, although I hope that you'll at least look around and take a meal with dad before you hop back here."

"Of course." Cossack nodded. "I would be honored. And I believe I still have to meet Rush. Oh, here comes Eddie." They all looked behind them as the little brown suitcase robot came trotting up.

"Beep beep!"

"Took care of those newsies, Ed?" Rock smiled and patted Eddie on the head. "You always were good at that."

"Heh... you'll have to tell me more about that later on... this was the first time I've seen Eddie deal with newsies. Looked great, though." Blues smiled. Dr. Cossack frowned as a sudden thought came to him.

"Blues... speaking of explaining things. I hate to turn the subject to such a thing, but... you never did tell us what went on with you and Skull Fortress exactly, did you." Rock's face darkened, but he nodded.

"Yeah... I do want to know what happened there. Well, bro?"

"Weeeeeeell..." Blues looked at the sky. "When I first found the place, both me and Wily were amazed to see each other. Fortunately, though, he never actually found out about how I switched sides at the end of the Third Rebellion; he thought all the stuff I had done in Skull Fortress there was merely incompetence. And he didn't know I had been with the family, either... seems he didn't bother actually keeping up on us over the three years since the Third. Turns out, by the way, that that was another robotic fake who was controlling Gamma, bro. The real Wily escaped Skull Fortress on the original Melee Moth the moment it all went down. It was fairly easy for me to place myself back in a position there, and I immediately started making plans for helping Rock. I didn't know about Kalinka at this time, you realize; all I knew was that Wily was making you take the flak for his work, doc. So during an 'accidental' power outage, I jacked that second Melee Moth, flew it down near your place, and hid it nearby. At the time, I was thinking that if Rock got ahead of me and attacked your place, I could use the Moth to catch him and explain things. When I got back to Skull Fortress, I found out about Kalinka. Then... well, to put it bluntly... I was stupid and impulsive." Blues scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Obviously, I should have brought the Moth back and used it to fly Kalinka away. But I didn't; I got so fired up that I broke in and brought her out right away before I could think thing through. Then it was too late; I couldn't leave her alone long enough to bring the Moth, or the robots would get her. I called myself a lot of names during that time over that, I can assure you." He sighed. "I ended up having to fight each and every one of Sennet's Robot Masters eventually. Not fun. And you all know what happened once we reached the castle."

"Indeed." Dr. Light began smoking a pipe, watching the rings float up into the air. "Well, all that's in the past now... the Fourth Robot Rebellion is over and done with, thank whatever gods there are."

"But its effects aren't gone quite yet... are they?" Rock asked the younger human directly. Cossack shook his head grimly.

"I'm afraid not. Wily left his mark on all of us... and I still remember everything very clearly. I fear I shall not know peace until that madman lies dead in his grave, no matter how much time passes."

"None of us blame you for that... we feel the same way." Roll smiled warmly. "Don't worry, doctor... at least you have friends towards that goal, right?"

"Indeed." Cossack nodded, a smile coming to his own face as well. "Indeed I... we... do."

"So, what's your first project going to be?" Rock asked more cheerfully than he felt, changing the subject.

"The restoration of my Robot Masters, of course." The Russian robotocist replied. "Their remains were all collected by the United Nations... as soon as they are returned to me, I will begin rebuilding them as they were meant to be, with the Laws of Robotics firmly in place and the goal to serve mankind."

"That shouldn't be too much of a change for some of them." Rock noted. "I could tell there was something off about them, but I never was sure what. Now, of course, it's obvious. It'll be good to be able to see them as friends too." He glanced forward. "Ah, here's the airport."

"Eh... actually, I think I'll just teleport." Blues said, a little too quickly. "I don't feel like a plane ride just now." Roll immediately fixed him with a glare.

"All right, bro. What are you up to?"

"Up to? Up to?" The elder robot protested innocently. "Why with the accusations, Roll? Why must I be 'up to' something? Don't you trust me?"

"I KNOW you, brother mine." Roll smirked. "Give. What are you hiding?" Blues sighed and began walking away slowly, face resigned.

"Well... all right. I'll tell you..." He suddenly grinned. "When you get home! See ya, sis!" Roll released a fiery oath as he teleported away, and Cossack raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Such language."

"Youth of today, my friend." Dr. Light laughed, leading him towards the airport with the remaining robots behind them. "Youth of today. Roll's really quite fair-tongued compared to what I've heard on the streets..."

"Did you HAVE to ride on top of the train?" Roll asked her brother as the Lights and Cossack walked down the forest path.

"Yes, actually. Well, here we are." Rock announced grandiously as they arrived in front of the Light domecile. "It's not exactly an ancient castle, but we call it home." Aside from an altercation with Eddie and a drunken tourist in baggage claim, the trip had been uneventful. Dr. Cossack looked at the house in front of him appraisingly.

"Hmm... I like it. I see you prefer to be out away from the big city as well... good call."

"Yeah, city life gives me a rash." Roll joked. "Really, it's better this way... we're not exactly normal people, so living on a street with neighbors several feet away would be pretty disastrous." Cossack raised an eyebrow.

"So I see... what's with that tree with a hole in it?" Rock laughed.

"I think Blues did that when he was first testing the Mega Buster... but you see our point. A tree is one thing, but blasting holes in other people's houses... not good. Plus, we like it out here." He looked up into the forest leaves happily. "A lot of these are treeborgs, but oh well. The atmosphere is the same." The Russian robotocist nodded.

"I noticed."

"Well, let's not stand here in the road all day." Dr. Light smiled and unlocked the front door. "Come on in, please."

"Bluesy, you got some explaining to do!" Roll called into the house as she walked in. No response. "Hmph... playing silent, is he? Well, I'll find him..." She stalked up the stairs. The other three watched her go, then simultaneously shrugged.

"Women." Rock rolled his eyes. "Robot or human... they're all the same."

"Amen to that..." Dr. Light nodded. "Anyways. I'll put on a pot of tea while you show Sergei the lab, Rock." The robot boy nodded and led his guest up the stairs.

"Lab's in here." He flipped on the lights as they entered the room. "This is where dad and the rest of us work on... well... things, for lack of a better word."

"I see..." Cossack surveyed the surroundings. "What's that large machine over there? Looks like a stasis capsule... but not quite."

"No, we've all got those in our own rooms." Rock shook his head. "That's our Upgrade Capsule... it's used to implement design changes in us. Works on Robot Masters, Advanced RMs, and just plain robots like Eddie. I've used it many a time."

"I see." Cossack nodded. Suddenly, from down the hall, there was a horrendously loud screech followed by a crash. Rock and Cossack stared at each other for a moment before bolting towards the source of the noise, Dr. Light's study. Inside, they found Roll, swearing sulferously as she continued to kick the desk she had knocked over. In one hand she held a crumped ball of paper. Blues was nowhere to be seen.

"Um... sis? What's the problem?" Without looking at him, Roll threw the paper at her brother, then proceeded to pick up the chair that normally went with the desk and smash it against the wall. Wide-eyed, Rock and Cossack unfolded the paper and read what was written on it.

__

Hey, everybody.

I'm sorry, but there's no easy way to say this. So I'll just have to be straight and come out with it. By the time you arrive... I will no longer be here. I'll be gone again. That's right... I'm leaving. Heading off into the sunset once more, traveling the world wherever the will and the wind takes me. You might ask why... in fact, you almost definately will. But I can't really give you a definite answer, because you see, I'm not too sure myself. I don't know. It's just... a feeling, I suppose would be the best way to describe it. Don't get me wrong. I love this place, and I love all you guys. These past three years... they were the happiest time in my entire life. Just being here... being the older brother in the family... made me happier than you can ever imagine. But... I can't do that forever. Maybe something changed during those two weeks I spent with Kalinka in the snow... or maybe it was lying buried all the time. I'm not sure myself. But it's come out, one way or another. And I can't deny it. I have to leave... have to wander again. Just go my own way, I don't care where. Just journey... see the world in its purest form. I don't know if you can understand what I'm talking about... but I hope you can. Maybe then you'll know why I'm not here anymore. But don't worry. I'm not gone forever... some day, I will come back. You have my promise on that, family dear. I'll send postcards, every so often, too. And presents! Can't forget the presents! Heh... don't think that your brother... your son... has disappeared... he's just taking a leave of abscence. I'll keep in touch... stop in for a visit after a while, although I'm not giving you any specifics on that. And you'd BETTER believe I'll be helping you out again the next time Wily raises his ugly head, Rock. Until then, it's been real, everybody. Signing off,

Blues

"Well... that cuts straight to the point." Cossack observed as he watched Roll knock over a bookcase, still spouting curses like a drunken sailor. "I'm afraid your sister doesn't appear to be taking it too well, though."

"I'm not surprised." Rock sighed. "Let's just stay out of her way... trust me." The two of them left the room, shutting the door behind them-none too soon, apparently, as something heavy hit it almost right after, causing Rock to wince.

"WHAT is all the racket?" Dr. Light asked, annoyed, as he walked up the stairs. "It sounds like there's an inept construction worker with a wrecking ball up here!" Cossack silently handed him the note, and he read it, eyebrows lifting several times. "Oh. Oh, my. Roll is in there, I take it."

"Yeah. She was mildly annoyed by our brother's sudden departure." Rock said dryly. As soon as it had started, the noise from the study suddenly stopped. Dr. Light smiled and dropped the note.

"Well, she seems to have calmed down now." He walked in.

"No, I wouldn't..." Both Rock and Cossack tried to stop the elederly robotocist, but he had already entered. A moment later, he ran back out, wild-eyes, with Roll's vocabulary scorching the air around him. "So... I take it she hasn't calmed down?"

"She's done breaking the furniture." Dr. Light reported. "I think she's ready to start on people."

"Is it always like this around here?" Cossack asked. Rock nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much."

The Robot Rebellions would continue. Wily was still out there. But for the moment... in the brief time of peace between wars... for better or for worse, life had returned to normal for the Lights.


	18. Epilogue & Author's Note

**__**

Epilogue: The Healing Time

by Erico

February 27th, 2075

8:42 P.M. Kriljarne Hospital, New Amsterdam

Room 1782

The nurse calmly removed the thermometer from Kalinka's mouth, eyeing the electronic readout for an instant before smiling. She quietly set the thermometer down on the table beside the patient and looked back into Kalinka's wide and asking eyes.

"Well?" Kalinka said slowly, using her best English, "Do I pass?"

The nurse nodded her head. "You're still a smidge above 'normal', but all the readouts show that you've made a full recovery."

Kalinka visibly relaxed, easing herself back into her pillow. "Does that mean I can go see my father now?"

The nurse's smile faded a bit. "I hope so." Kalinka blinked in confusion, but the nurse shook her head. "You'll be ready by tomorrow to finally leave and go back home…but for right now, just settle in and get some rest."

Kalinka pulled the covers up close to her, thankful that they had let her keep her collection of t-shirts and shorts instead of wearing the hospital gowns. Her own clothes were far warmer…with a shudder, she remembered all too well the feeling of cold.

She never wanted to be cold again. She shivered again and looked towards the window, which had been left open to let in the warmth of the day. Even now, the gossamer curtains waved back and forth slowly in the chill breeze, softly brushing up against her cheek. She noticed something else in the crankout window, though; a brief glimmer of a reflection of yellow, which waved for a moment and then seemed to vanish, suspecting her discovery.

The nurse followed Kalinka's gaze and mistook her shivering, shaking her head. "I'll close that window for you before I leave." She started to walk towards it before Kalinka could shake her head.

"_Nyet…_No." Kalinka corrected herself, going back to English. "Leave it open."

The nurse looked back curiously at her. "But aren't you cold?"

"Not really." Kalinka said, a suspicious smile rising to her features. "I'll be fine."

The nurse gave the window one last cursory glance, then shrugged her shoulders and headed for the door. "Remember, if you need something…"

"Just push the button." Kalinka smiled back, motioning her head to the red switch beside her shoulder. The nurse nodded back and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her and flipping the light off.

It took Kalinka a few moments to adjust her vision to the new darkness, but thankfully the light coming through the open window with the translucent curtains helped, and it wasn't long before she could see the outlines of her room again.

She shut her eyes, feeling her body begin to tell her to go to sleep, healed yet still exhausted from her ordeal. It had been about a week now since she'd been admitted, enough to take care of the virulent flu that had raged through her systems unabated. Her reserves were still depleted, a fact that her body reminded her of every day when she tried to overexert herself.

Kalinka couldn't sleep yet, though…not yet. She opened her eyes and looked towards the window, clearing her throat and switching back to Russian.

"Blues…you can come in if you'd like."

The wind blew a little harder for a moment, but she could see clearly enough the return of a fluttering length of yellow come back into view in the window.

"You knew I was out here?" Protoman asked quietly, still refusing to show himself. Kalinka smiled at that, nodding her head in a gesture he couldn't see.

"Please come in." She asked him again. Protoman sighed and finally stepped around fully and through the window, his large boots clanking firmly to the polished tile floor of her room.

He smiled at her a bit, his black hair looking ruffled from the outside breeze. Despite the fact he was dressed only in blue jeans, a red T-Shirt and a gray jacket, he seemed unfazed by the chill conditions outside. It could have been the yellow fabric that hung loosely around his neck…after all this time, Kalinka still couldn't decide if it was more scarf or bandana. More than likely, a little of both.

"How could you tell I was out there?" He asked shyly. "Geez, I didn't say anything."

"Yes…but I could still see you out there." Kalinka giggled. "That, and I could hear you…some nights before I'd really gone to sleep, I could hear you whistling outside my window."

Protoman laughed at that, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Guilty as charged, I suppose."

Kalinka sat up in her bed, pushing her back against the headboard and drawing the covers up tighter around herself. "I…wanted to thank you."

Protoman didn't say anything, but smiled at her words.

"Not only for saving me from Wily…But for bringing me back. You took care of me for weeks…and I can never really repay you for that."

"Ahh, forget about it." He said easily. "Besides, you remember what I told you about the First Law…if I hadn't saved you, it would have meant I'd have died too."

"Only once we escaped Wily's Castle." Kalinka answered quietly. She looked up towards his glasses, sincerity on her face. "But before that…nobody asked you to find me, did they?"

Protoman fell silent again at that, and Kalinka smiled. "You get quiet whenever I say something true about you."

"You spend enough time with somebody, you can start to peg them down." He finally said. "Only other people who've been able to do that with me is my family." He casually strolled over and sat down next to Kalinka, letting his head drop back as he sighed.

"So did you get yourself fixed up when you got back home?"

"Yep. If there's one thing pops can do right, it's repairing wear and tear on robots like me and Rock." Protoman answered. "Only took me a day to get back to full rights once he finished with the recharge and chassis." He looked over. "I got out of my own bedrest a little quicker than you, I see."

"I'm human, Blues. I take a little longer to heal." She smiled at him again. "But did you hear? They're finally letting me go!"

"Yes, that would be cause for celebration." Protoman mused. "Still, didn't you like all that free ice cream?"

Kalinka glanced at him. "So they fed me…all this place is is another prison." She shook her head. "And I've had enough of those."

Protoman lifted his head up and clicked his tongue. "Yeah. I can honestly say I know how you feel. But don't worry, you'll get out of here soon enough, and then you can go back home."

Kalinka blinked a few times. "Blues?"

"Hmm?"

"The nurse…What did she mean when she said 'I hope so'? Isn't dad doing all right?"

"Your old man, Dr. C…" He began, pausing as he opened and shut his mouth, grasping for the right words. He finally sat up straight and rested his hands in his lap, looking back at her. "You know that Wily kidnapped you…to get at him, right?"

Kalinka nodded, then her eyes widened. "You mean…"

"Your dad…he did some things that a lot of people can't easily forgive." Protoman said slowly. "That's why he hasn't come in to see you while you've been here…the United Nations in particular has kept him occupied."

"But…why would he…he's not an evil man, he's not!" Kalinka protested.

"Yeah, I know that." Protoman replied, his voice consoling. "And Rock knows that and my dad knows that. He was only doing what Wily told him to…because if he didn't, then Wily would hurt you. Your dad loves you a lot…enough he'd play the scapegoat in Wily's ambitions."

"They're not gonna…" Kalinka began, unable to finish.

"Go to jail?" He finished, lifting an eyebrow. "Well, I think we've managed to avoid that axe. Your father disrupted businesses and nations, true…but he never had his robots hurt anybody. Not a single human was harmed or killed, and according to some of the testimony given, a few of your dad's Robot Masters were quite amiable. That speaks a lot to his credit, especially given the role model they had for comparison. Plus, it speaks a lot for him that he was being controlled by Wily. They already have one insane robotics genius out to fill the role of villain…I guess they weren't too keen on making another one."

"He's not getting off completely free…he's been charged with some community service, which basically means he'll be working with my dad, Dr. Light for about a year, and he'll never be completely free of the stigma of being a criminal…but he's a free man, Kalinka. Your dad gets to go back home, he gets to rebuild his life…and most importantly, he gets to have you back."

Kalinka visibly relaxed and leaned back against the headboard again, shutting her eyes. "Thank God."

"But he misses you." Protoman said. "I've listened in on a few conversations he and my family have had, and that's always his first question… 'How's Kalinka doing?' He loves you a lot…He was willing to fight the world just to save you."

"But he didn't save me." Kalinka interrupted. "You did."

Protoman smiled at that. "Yeah. And I'd do it again." He stood up and walked towards the window. "You have one heck of a view…you ever get up and look outside?"

Kalinka looked over at him and shook her head. "I'm not strong enough yet to stay on my feet that long. But what does it look like?"

"It's New Amsterdam." He said quietly. "Awfully big place…one of the biggest cities in Europe left, I could safely wager."

"Why's that?" Kalinka asked, intrigued.

Protoman sighed and shook his head. "It was…something that happened long before our time. The Wars of 2040 is their official name. Some people prefer to call it World War III, but it's the same thing. Nearly every country just finally threw up their hands in disgust and started shooting off everything they had. It took out a large chunk of humanity in the process…most of the Earth ended up being ruined."

He turned and looked back at her. "That's why robots were finally made practical, Kalinka. The world needed them." He turned back out and stared at the city lights, shining in the darkness. "It took a lot of rebuilding over the next two decades to undo what had been done…but they managed it. From what I recall, the group responsible for saving the planet was called the Second Rainbow. My dad was in that, as were a whole lot of other people who hold positions of power these days. The cities were what were salvaged first…most of them received such dramatic upgrades and fixes that they even had to change the name. Like this one…Old Amsterdam is about ten kilometers away, from what I remember. Ruins now. But New Amsterdam…alive and well."

"You sound a lot older than you did out in Siberia." Kalinka noted, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Somedays, I feel old." Protoman whispered. "At least for now…things will get somewhat back to normal. You get to go back home, your dad's out of trouble, and Wily's had his sorry carcass dumped out into the open. My brother gets some more relaxation time…not as much as he'd like…"

"You're forgetting to mention someone." Kalinka responded quickly.

"Who, Roll? Well, she can always take care of herself." Protoman mumbled.

"I meant you." Kalinka replied.

Protoman turned and looked back at her, a grim look on his face. "What about me?"

"You seem uneasy." Kalinka thought for a moment, putting a finger to her chin. "Restless…that's probably a better word for it."

He scoffed. "That's crazy."

"Is it?" Kalinka asked accusingly, her tone belying her youthful age. "You're not like anyone I've ever met…You don't have any easily understandable reason for what you do. You don't have any hidden reason for your actions. You don't have anything terrible that made you the way you are. You're just…just…"

"I'm just me." Protoman finished, walking back over to her and shrugging his shoulders. "That's all we really can be."

"Yes." Kalinka nodded. "But…you've been out there every night, for as long as you could be. Why?"

Protoman put a hand into his coat pocket, his bottom lip tightening up. "I was your guardian for a stretch of about two weeks…it's not an easy thing to forget or unlearn. My reasoning was that as long as you were here, and your dad was unable to get back to you, somebody had to make sure you'd be all right." He cocked his head to the side and looked at her. "Why would you ask me that? I get the feeling that somehow you already knew the answer."

"You'll always be there for me, won't you?" Kalinka mused shyly.

Protoman didn't say anything, but sat back down again. The girl, perturbed by his silence, sat up a little straighter. "Blues?"

Protoman chewed his lip again, slowly shaking his head. "Kalinka, I…I don't know about that." She blinked at him. "Everything that's happened…to you, to me, to my situation…it's changed things. I thought after the Third Robot Rebellion I'd finally found home again with my family…that I could live in Tokyo with them for the rest of my life. But then this happened, and…" He ran a hand through his hair. "You were right about me. You called me restless…and that is exactly what I'm feeling."

"You feel like a prisoner too…don't you?" Kalinka realized, her clear blue eyes glancing at him.

"Yeah." Protoman replied softly. "I guess you and I…we're more alike than we thought, eh? We're both like the nightingale from fairy tales."

"Eh?" Kalinka asked. "What nightingale?"

"It's an old story told from long ago." Protoman answered. "There was a king who loved the music of the nightingale so much that he captured it and put it in a cage in his castle…but when the bird was caged, it couldn't sing, and it eventually died of a broken heart."

"Wait, I remember that one." Kalinka caught on. "Didn't he have a mechanical nightingale built next?"

"Yes…but its music didn't make him happy." Protoman acknowledged. "What the king learned…was that the beauty of the nightingales' singing came from its freedom. It sang because it was free, and freedom was what made it happy. No construct could duplicate that feeling…so he was left with the conclusion that to hear the beautiful music…he had to let his songbirds roam about on their own."

"…the Mechanical bird…was like a robot, wasn't it?" Kalinka guessed, slowly connecting the dots in her head.

"Yeah. In a way…it was. A very simple one." Protoman mumbled, flexing his hand. Kalinka watched him carefully, realizing what he was doing a few seconds later.

He was comparing himself to the clockwork nightingale.

"…Blues, you're not like that mechanical bird." Kalinka finally said, shaking her head. He looked up at her, surprise in his expression. "I mean, I know that you're not human, but…" She shook her head for a moment, looking for a way to continue. "…To me, you _still are_. Your heart is human, and that's enough for anybody. You whistle beautifully…there's a good chance you sing just as well."

Protoman smiled at that. "Probably. I've never really tried…hummed a few times, but that's different." He reverted back to a more serious expression. "But…you get what I'm trying to say, don't you?"

"You and I…we're the same." Kalinka nodded slowly, lifting her hand up and over to him. "We both…just want to be free."

Gently, Protoman took her tiny and frail hand into his own. "That's exactly it."

"But where will you go?" Kalinka asked, her voice more somber.

"Honestly…I don't know." Protoman said. "I spent a lot of time wandering in Africa, so I think I'm done there." He looked towards the window. "But there's a lot of world left to see…Maybe I developed a sense of wanderlust after all."

"Wanderwhat?"

"Never you mind." Protoman said with a smile. "Look up the word sometime…you'll eventually learn that one and others like it. But I don't know, Kalinka. I'll just start walking…and I'll go where the wind takes me."

"Without any plan? Without any direction?"

"Hey, it's wandering." Protoman said defensively. "It's not supposed to be a fully planned trip. That's the adventure in life, Kalinka…to face it as it comes at you, where the true test…is how well you can keep your bearings set when a hurricane finally hits."

Kalinka nodded, then yawned, unable to control her weariness any longer. "Blues?"

"Yes, Kalinka?"

"Even if you do go away for a while…Will you still come and visit me?"

"If I say yes, will you go to sleep and let your body finish healing itself?" Protoman asked calmly.

"Mmmhmmm…" The girl mumbled.

"Well…yes. I'll stop by your dad's place and visit you on occasion. I could never forget you."

"You mean that?" Kalinka asked sleepily.

"Yeah." He replied, lightly brushing a hand through her hair, gently stroking her head with a comforting touch. "You'll always be a princess to me."

"You're still my knight in shining armor, too." Kalinka whispered back with a smile. She reached a hand up to his own head, her small fingers curling around the edge of his sunglasses. Instinctively, his own hand rose up to stop her from pulling them off, lightly grasping around her wrist. She looked at him again, her eyes pleading. "I've never seen your eyes. Just once…"

Blues thought about it for a few moments before finally relaxing his own grip and letting her timidly pull his eyewear away from him.

The room was as dark as it had ever been…but in what little light there was, Kalinka held his glasses in her hands, looking up into a set of brilliant deep blue eyes.

"Without your glasses…you look like your brother." She said with a soft smile.

"I never could understand the family resemblance myself." Protoman said gruffly. Kalinka giggled at that and opened his glasses back up, holding them close to her with the lenses staring at her face.

"I think your eyes are far more handsome than his. You can have your glasses back now."

He reached for them, but she pulled them back with a cluck of her tongue. "No, you have to let me put them on you."

"No I don't." Protoman argued, but moved his face down closer to hers anyway.

Ever so slowly, she set his sunglasses back over his eyes, making sure that the wings tucked back behind his ears…

Before he could pull away, she forced her entire body forth and quickly kissed his nose, falling backwards with a shy blush.

"Now I've properly thanked you." She said timidly.

Protoman brushed a hand against his nose, smiling nervously. "Well, I hope so."

Kalinka turned a brighter shade of red at that, and Blues chuckled a bit. "But you promised me…I said I'd come visit you, so now you have to get to bed."

"All right." She said, perhaps a little relieved to move past the embarrassing moment herself. She yawned again, proof enough that the excitement didn't outlive her weariness.

She pulled the covers of the bed over herself a little more, curling up on herself a bit to increase the warmth.

"Are you cold?" Protoman asked. "I could go get some more blankets…"

"No…" Kalinka assured him, shutting her eyes and dozing off to sleep. "When you're around…I'm never…cold…"

Protoman smiled a bit at that, then turned around and headed back towards the window. It had gone well, he thought; he'd gotten to say goodbye. Kalinka would make a complete recovery. And now, after everything was done…he himself could leave this place.

Leave this whole scheme of the world behind. Move on to something…something different, maybe something better. But always someplace else.

His family would understand, he decided. He'd left a note in Dr. Light's room, taped to his writing desk even to make it painfully obvious. He was simply going away for a while…He'd done enough sitting, he had explained in the letter. He had to find himself again, and he had to find his own meaning for living. But most importantly…as he had shared with Kalinka…

He had to be free.

He turned and glanced back towards the young girl, looking through the thick tint of his sunglasses and remembering all they had been through. He was a free spirit, he assured himself…

But something about her would always bring him back.

He had just begun to turn and finish his short stroll to the window when she rolled over and mumbled something. Blues might not have understood it, but in the sheer silence of the night, it was all too obvious.

"I love you." She whispered.

Protoman turned around, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to say something back, but quietly closed it, thinking better of his choice and simply slipping off into the night, convincing himself she had mumbled it in simple gratitude.

Any other explanation for it…

Quietly, he climbed up onto the windowsill, kneeling down on his haunches and peering over the edge to the ground 16 stories below. He turned around one last time, his quiet eyes watching the slow rise and fall of her torso as she finally hit sleep, oblivious to all the world.

Behind his glasses, he shut his eyes, as if in prayer. Then he turned around and jumped out…

Ten stories later, a flash of light briefly went by her window…

And a soft five note, four tone melody echoed in the wind as she faded into dreams.

**__**

Author's Note

Well, kiddies, it's time for another visit from Mr. Grumpy. And this time, he's REALLY grumpy; having my update access fragged over such a little thing irritates me a great deal, to put it in the nicest possible terms. I tried to explain it in my profile, but looking at my reviews can tell one quite obviously that at least one person didn't bother looking, so I'll say it here too. A really old piece of junk I had up here violated one of the fancy new rules without me knowing it. I got my update access blown up for three months because of that. I am not happy with the folks here for THAT. Knowing them, though, voicing my opinions truly and bluntly here would land me in REAL trouble, so let's just say I strongly disapprove of their policy and let it go at that. Yeah, I know, join the club.

As usual, I'll just get the legal shite out of the way. The original game, the Mega Man series as a whole, all original characters, etc. are copyright Capcom. However, this 'fic itself, as well as all un-capcom concepts and characters like Corbun, are mine legally. Take it from a lawyer's son; DON'T try to pass anything I came up with off as your own, or you will be VERY sorry. I've seen it happen, and it better not come to pass with this.

Now, for the thank-yous. To start, one BIG thank-you is obvious; Erico, for multiple reasons, only one of being that he's the bloke who got me into the writing game in the first place. I think I've done fairly well with that. Also, as I hope most of you have already noticed, he wrote the Epilogue for this 'fic. He asked to do it as a favor, but I think I'm the one who actually got the better end of that deal; came out a lot better than I could have done, most likely. Hey, the guy's got several years on me, whaddaya expect? If you're any kind of Mega Man fan and haven't read his own 'fics, I advise you do so ASAP. Trust me, it'll be good for you. Drink grape soda, that's good for you too. As long as you don't OD and get so sloshed you think you're from another country. That actually happened once.

Back on track. Another big shout out belongs to my brother and editor, who goes only by the name of Deathscythe. No, he's not a giant robot. If present observations mean anything, he has a future in kleptomania. But he still has the patience to read through my stuff and point out errors for me before I put it up, so thankee. More thanks to just some buddies; the Ethereal Ferret, Mister Chimpo, and Chibi Schala, just for no other reason than stickin' by me over the years. And last but not least, to the blokes at , just for being you. You keep me humble, at least, even if you're also largely responsible for my growing grapaholism.

Aaaand... well, that's about it, really. Not much more to say about this one, but it's done, and I had fun writing it. I'll be coming back to the world of Mega Man again later, but for now, I got something different in mind. It'll probably already be well underway by the time this goes up, so check it out if you're of a mind. An old-school RPG made by the same quality folks behind Mega Man… Breath Of Fire. Just don't make any dragon jokes. They're kinda touchy that way.

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-Magus523, June 2004


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